Official says blockade on ‘shadow fleet’ would be illegal, and raises prospect of retaliation against European vessels
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A senior Russian official has said Moscow could deploy its navy to protect Russian-linked vessels from potential European seizures, raising the prospect of retaliatory action against European shipping as pressure on the Kremlin’s so-called shadow fleet intensifies.
Nikolai Patrushev, a former FSB director who heads Russia’s maritime board, said on Tuesday that the country’s navy should be ready to counter what he described as “western piracy”.
“If this situation cannot be resolved peacefully, the navy will break any blockade and move to eliminate it. And let’s not forget that many vessels sail the seas under European flags – we, too, may take an interest in what they are carrying and where they are headed,” he told the Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty.
