Russia has threatened retaliation against the EU if it proceeds with plans to seize more Russian oil tankers in the Baltic Sea, considering such actions as an attack, reports Politico.
Shadow Fleet
Alexei Zhuravlev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s parliamentary defense committee, on Monday said that “any attack on our carriers can be regarded as an attack on our territory, even if the ship is under a foreign flag.”
His comments came after the news that countries including Finland, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia were considering new legal mechanisms to detain more of Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet — aging vessels with obscure ownership and unknown insurance.
Creaky Tankers
The countries are increasingly frustrated that Russia is using these creaky tankers to dodge Western sanctions designed to cut Moscow’s oil revenue and drain its war chest. Oil and gas exports account for almost half the Kremlin’s total tax revenues and are central to funding its war in Ukraine.
Zhuravlev, the leader of the nationalist Rodina party, said any move to grab tankers would also prompt “retaliatory measures” from Moscow, which could include “boarding Western ships in the Baltic, but also active measures from our Baltic fleet, which is certainly no match for the Baltic countries’ array of small boats.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine lauded the countries’ proposals, which gained fresh momentum after Finland seized a Russian shadow fleet vessel in December, suspecting it of sabotaging several Baltic Sea cables.
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Source: Politico
