Moscow slams EU for turning open seas into sanctions battlefield
2 Min Read
Russia has accused the European Union of weaponizing maritime law after France seized a tanker it claims is linked to Moscow, calling the move an unlawful act of economic warfare under the guise of sanctions enforcement.
-
This aerial picture taken on October 1, 2025 off the coast of the western France port of Saint-Nazaire shows French soldiers onboard the tanker from Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" suspected of being involved in drone flights over Denmark which sailed off the Danish coast between September 22 and 25 (AFP)
Russia has strongly denounced the European Union for what it described as a reckless attempt to militarize international waters, after French authorities intercepted and detained an oil tanker allegedly connected to Moscow.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that the EU was "not shying away from any means to create obstacles to free navigation and turn peaceful waters into zones of confrontation, persecuting those who disobey orders from Brussels." Her comments came in response to French President Emmanuel Macron's claim that the seized vessel was part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet."
Maritime Confrontation
French naval forces detained the Boracay tanker earlier in the week off the country's western coast, citing suspicions of sanctions violations and questions over the vessel's nationality. Two crew members were arrested as part of an ongoing investigation by French authorities.
The French Navy has interdicted the Russian Shadow Fleet tanker MV Pushpa in the Bay of Biscay.
— Naval Forces Tracker (@NavForTracker) October 2, 2025
Pushpa was suspected of launching drones into Danish airspace before changing its name to Boracay.
(Src: https://t.co/sFfcWStVSM, @MT_Anderson, @tom_bike)pic.twitter.com/MOlcbK9ulg
Zakharova stated that Moscow had not been given any credible explanation for the move. "It remains unclear what violations the crew committed and why the investigation is underway," she said, suggesting that Paris was attempting to distract attention from "the worsening social and economic situation." She also rejected the "shadow fleet" label as a Western fabrication. "The concept of a 'shadow fleet' is a creation of the sanctions rhetoric that does not exist," she noted.
Sea Provocation
The tanker, reportedly sailing under a West African flag, had previously changed names and registrations several times, a practice common in global shipping but one that European officials have increasingly linked to alleged sanction evasion. French prosecutors have announced that the ship's captain will stand trial early next year over what they described as noncompliance during the inspection.
Moscow, however, maintains that the seizure is part of a broader Western campaign to undermine Russian trade and exert political pressure through maritime channels. Russian officials have warned that such actions erode long-standing principles of free navigation and threaten to turn open seas into arenas of confrontation.
Read more: Macron: Seizing frozen Russian assets would break international law
