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President Vladimir Putin called France’s seizure of the Boracay tanker piracy, vowing a significant response, as Macron defended the move to block Russia’s shadow fleet
Russian President Vladimir Putin
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday condemned France’s detention of a Russia-linked ship as “piracy” and vowed to take a “significant” response to European threats.
The French police have arrested the captain, a Chinese national, and first officer of a sanctioned tanker, the Boracay, suspecting to be operated for Russia’s “shadow fleet,” after the navy boarded the vessel, authorities said on Thursday.
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In a post on X, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said: “Thanks to our Navy commandos and to the crews of the French Navy who intervened this weekend on board a Russian shadow fleet tanker, currently anchored off Saint-Nazaire. Their action contributed to the arrest of two members of its crew.”
Reuters quoted President Emmanuel Macron as saying that France’s detention of a tanker suspected of operating for Russia’s “shadow fleet” is part of a new European strategy to block revenue funding Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
Speaking at an EU event in Copenhagen, he emphasised the possible link between the vessel and the drone incursions but so far lacked proof.
“We want to increase pressure on Russia to convince it to return to the negotiating table,” he said. “We have now decided to take a step further by moving towards a policy of obstruction when we have suspicious ships in our waters that are involved in this trafficking.”
However, Russia has denied its role in the violation of European airspace. “This is piracy. The tanker was seized in neutral waters without any justification,” said Putin, adding that there was no military cargo onboard.
“We are closely monitoring the rising militarisation of Europe. Retaliatory measures by Russia will not take long. The response to such threats will be very significant. Russia will never show weakness or indecisiveness,” he added.
Russia
October 03, 2025, 04:37 IST
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