Overview
- Senior Kremlin official Nikolai Patrushev said Russia could deploy its navy to prevent European powers from taking Russian-linked vessels and warned of possible retaliation against European shipping.
- He asserted any Western attempt at a maritime blockade would be illegal under international law and said the navy would break and lift such a blockade if needed.
- Patrushev dismissed the term “shadow fleet” as a legal fiction and described recent interdictions as piracy-like attacks, singling out the United Kingdom, France and Baltic states.
- France released the tanker Grinch after a multimillion-euro fine and three weeks of immobilisation, with Paris saying the case shows sanctions evasion carries a cost.
- Recent actions include a January U.S. special forces seizure of the tanker Marinera and EU restrictions covering 598 suspected vessels, as European monitoring expands without reported naval clashes.