How did Ukrainians end up sailing in Russia's shadow fleet?

Shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, Elon Musk’s company SpaceX swept in to restore internet connectivity to areas that had been affected by Russian attacks. But SpaceX and its internet service, Starlink, have hardly remained indisputable forces for good in the war in Ukraine. Earlier this month, the Kyiv Independent revealed that a fleet of old, rusty ships has been transporting hundreds of millions of barrels of Russian oil… with Starlink’s help. Investigative journalist Tanya Kozyreva joins us to explain what her reporting uncovered about how Starlink is used by the Russian “shadow fleet” – and how Ukrainian sailors have found themselves onboard. We’re also joined by The Europeans’ resident Luxembourger, Nina Lamparski, to discuss a resurgence of bison in Europe and the imperiled fate of halloumi.

JOIN OUR BOOK CLUB: We’re so excited to be partnering with our friends at the European Review of Books on a new audio book club! Want to read along with us? We’ll be discussing our first pick, Vincenzo Latronico’s Perfection, on 14 May.

Resources for this episode:

• “From biodiversity to carbon capture: Saving bison from extinction has brought big benefits to Europe” – Euronews, 8 April 2026
• “Foot-and-Mouth Disease - questions and answers” – European Commission
• “Disease and division threaten Halloumi in latest Cyprus-Turkey spat” – Politico, 10 April 2026
• Our 2021 episode about halloumi, “Cheese Diplomacy”
• “Exclusive: We discovered what’s going on inside Russia’s shadow fleet” – Kyiv Independent, 1 April 2026

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Produced by Morgan Childs and Katy Lee

Editorial support from Katz Laszlo

Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak

Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

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