Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow will respond if European countries begin seizing Russian merchant vessels, as tensions escalate over the European Union’s crackdown on Russia’s so-called shadow fleet.
Speaking on Wednesday while overseeing naval exercises in Russia’s Far East, Putin accused some European governments of violating international maritime law by restricting the movement of Russian commercial vessels and considering plans to seize them.
He described such actions as “piracy and robbery” and warned that Russia would retaliate if European countries moved ahead with vessel seizures.
“If this begins to be put into practice, we shall be forced to respond in kind,” Putin said, adding that any Russian response would not necessarily take place in the same waters where Russian vessels were targeted.
The warning came as the EU steps up pressure on Russia’s shadow fleet, imposing sanctions on hundreds of vessels and conducting inspections of ships suspected of helping Moscow evade restrictions on its oil exports.
Russia’s Pacific Fleet commander, Viktor Liina, separately told Putin that his forces were prepared to inspect and detain vessels linked to what Moscow considers hostile countries and their shadow fleets.
Liina claimed that Western countries, including Britain and France, also use vessels flying under third-country flags to transport goods for their own interests, arguing that such ships could similarly be described as part of a shadow fleet.
“We have the capabilities to inspect and detain vessels belonging to unfriendly states and their shadow fleet,” Liina said, adding that the fleet had analysed maritime traffic across the Asia-Pacific region, including vessel routes, cargoes and ownership.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused the EU of carrying out unlawful inspections of foreign vessels through its Mediterranean naval operation, EUNAVFOR MED Irini.
Moscow criticised a recent Italian-led operation that boarded a sanctioned tanker linked to Russia’s shadow fleet, describing it as part of what it called Europe’s intensifying campaign against vessels suspected of helping Russia circumvent oil sanctions.
The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the EU of using the operation to intimidate commercial shipping companies and interfere with freedom of navigation, warning that such actions could create serious risks for Europe.
The latest statements mark another escalation in tensions between Moscow and European governments over maritime enforcement and sanctions, with both sides accusing the other of violating international rules.
