The Kremlin has accused the British government this Thursday of committing "piracy" after a few days ago the tanker "Smyrtos", part of the supposed "shadow fleet" with which Russia tries to circumvent the sanctions imposed for the war in Ukraine, was intercepted as it crossed the English Channel.
"It is probably an attempt at expropriation, sale, or piracy," denounced the Kremlin spokesman, Dimitri Peskov, coinciding with the announcement by French President Emmanuel Macron of the detention this Tuesday of another ship from that same "shadow fleet" off the coast of Sicily.
Peskov pointed out that the Russian authorities will analyze and implement all possible legal actions against both those who have confiscated the ship and those who market or acquire the transported crude oil. At the same time, he ironically stated that this is recurrent behavior on the part of the United Kingdom throughout its history.
On June 14, the British Royal Navy intercepted the cargo ship "Smytros" as it attempted to cross the English Channel. Although these types of operations against the so-called Russian "shadow fleet" are frequent in other areas, such as the Baltic Sea, this is the first time that the United Kingdom has led such an operation.
In parallel, in the last few hours, France has reported that on Tuesday it detained the tanker "Deliver", flying the flag of Cameroon and coming from the Russian port of Primorsk, on the Baltic Sea coast. According to French authorities, there is suspicion that it was sailing under a false flag.