President Vladimir Putin said Russia would seize ships belonging to European countries if they tried to sell cargo seized from Russian-linked ships suspected of belonging to Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet.
“This is nothing less than piracy and robbery,” Putin said during Russia’s Pacific Fleet exercises, referring to Europe’s plans to tighten measures against ships suspected of helping Moscow evade Western sanctions.
“If this starts to be put into practice, we will be forced to respond in the same way,” he added, saying Moscow would not limit its response to the waters where Russian ships were being detained.
Western governments have stepped up efforts to target the shadow fleet – a network of darkly owned or secured ships that Russia has used to keep its oil exports flowing despite sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.
Putin’s statement came after the European Union last month adopted a new package of sanctions against Russia, including measures that allow member states to sell oil or other cargo seized from sanctioned or banned ships.
According to European media reports, Swedish court documents showed that Stockholm was planning to transfer to Kiev a seized Russian ship suspected of transporting grain from parts of Russia-occupied Ukraine.
Days before Putin’s threats, the US Senate also approved a comprehensive package of sanctions on Russia and Iran, which would give President Donald Trump additional leverage to push Moscow toward negotiations with Ukraine, while tightening its war economy.
US House of Representatives begins push for comprehensive sanctions bill on Russia and Iran after Senate victory
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, energy revenues have remained a significant source of revenue for the Russian state and its war effort. Kiev has sought to curb Russia’s ability to finance the war by seeking tough sanctions against its energy sector.
Among other things, the bill – which has not yet been approved by the US House of Representatives – targets Russia’s shadow fleet, including ships, owners, operators, insurers, ports and other intermediaries involved in transporting Russian oil and sanctioned goods.
In recent months, the Ukrainian military has also intensified its long-range attacks on Russian shadow fleet ships and energy infrastructure, a campaign that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described as Kiev’s “long-term sanctions” against Moscow.