Kremlin official says Russian navy to stop West’s seizure of merchant ships

A Russian official says Western powers that seize sanctioned vessels carrying Moscow’s oil are committing ‘piracy-like attacks’.

A senior Kremlin official has warned that Russia’s navy could deploy to stop Western powers from seizing Russian vessels as part of sanctions against the country’s oil shipments and Moscow’s so-called “shadow fleet”.

Nikolai Patrushev, a Kremlin aide with responsibility for shipping and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was quoted on Tuesday as saying that Russia needed to send a strong message – particularly ‌to the United Kingdom, France and Baltic states.

“We believe that, as at all times, the best guarantor of navigation safety is the navy,” Patrushev said in comments made to Moscow’s Argumenty i Fakty newspaper, where he referred to “piracy-like attacks” by Western countries on Russian shipping.

“If we do not resist decisively, the English, the French, and even the Balts will soon be so bold as to try to block access to the seas for our country, at least in the Atlantic Basin,” he warned.

Patrushev said Russia had to be able to ship oil, grain and fertiliser to keep its economy operating. He accused Moscow’s Western opponents of targeting one of the most important sectors of the Russian economy – shipping.