Putin warns of retaliation over seized ships

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of retaliatory action against European countries over the seizure of Russian ships. According to the Kyiv Independent, Putin made the statement on August 12 while visiting Russian naval exercises in the Far East. He stated that attempts by European countries to seize Russian commercial vessels would be considered "nothing more than piracy".

Putin threatened that Moscow would "respond in kind" if European countries proceeded with seizing Russian ships. The warning comes amid efforts by Western countries to clamp down on Russia's "shadow fleet", a group of aging tankers used to circumvent sanctions. Several countries, including Sweden, France, the UK, and Belgium, have recently intercepted vessels from Russia's shadow fleet.

The Russian president accused Western authorities of violating international maritime law by restricting the movement of Russian vessels. The Kyiv Independent and Daily Times reported that Putin mentioned the possibility of seizing European ships in response to European plans to confiscate Russian cargo.

Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Times, Hindustan Times - World News, Kyiv Independent — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.