This Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to seize Western ships in retaliation for the boarding by European countries of vessels suspected of belonging to Russia’s “ghost fleet.”
Sweden or France notably boarded ships accused of being part of this fleet used by Moscow to bypass Western sanctions imposed since its large-scale offensive in Ukraine.
New sanctions, approved by the EU in late July to undermine this important source of revenue for Russia, pave the way for the sale of oil or goods seized on these ships.
“We note that the authorities of some countries (…) have recently considered the possibility of seizing our ships and selling the goods they plundered from us,” said Vladimir Putin, describing it as “piracy and banditry.”
“If this were to materialize, we would have to respond in a symmetric manner,” Putin said on the sidelines of naval exercises in Russia’s Far East, adding that Moscow would act “where we deem it necessary and appropriate, anywhere.”
Sweden has decided to hand over to Ukraine a cargo vessel from the ghost fleet, boarded in early March and transporting, Kyiv states, Ukrainian wheat stolen from the occupied territories.
Vladimir Putin spoke aboard the Russian cruiser Varyag off the island of Sakhalin, where the Russian navy is conducting exercises.
These exercises come one week before joint military maneuvers between the United States and South Korea, intended to simulate a possible North Korean attack.
Tensions are high in the region, Kyiv and Seoul accusing Pyongyang and Moscow of intensifying their military cooperation.
