EU confirms armed protection of Russia’s “shadow fleet” for the first time
17 December 15:13
The Swedish Navy has reported the appearance of armed guards on ships belonging to the Russian “shadow fleet.” Uniformed and armed men – presumably employees of private security companies – were spotted on tankers transporting oil from Russia, the head of the Swedish Navy’s operational command, Marko Petkovic, told the Swedish TV channel SVT Nyheter, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
As noted on Tuesday, December 16, by the Danish edition of Berlingske Media, this is the first time that an EU country has officially confirmed the appearance of armed guards on the ships of the Russian “shadow fleet”. This was reported earlier by the media.
Russia has strengthened its military presence in the Baltic
According to Petkovic, Russia has generally increased its military presence in the Baltic Sea. “The Russian naval presence has become more permanent and visible in a large part of the Baltic Sea,” the Swedish Navy spokesman said. “The Russian fleet is periodically present in different areas of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland, and it seems to be supporting this ‘shadow fleet’ in some way.”
SVT’s sources in the Swedish army confirmed that Russian warships are “constantly present” in several specific areas adjacent to shipping lanes.
Danish media wrote about the protection of the “shadow fleet”
Earlier, Danish media reported on the appearance of guards on the ships of the Russian “shadow fleet”. On December 6, the investigative portal DanWatch reported that people in camouflage uniforms were found on board one of the shadow fleet’s tankers in the Eresun Strait, one of whom was a former commander of special forces in Kaliningrad.
As noted by the publication, this is confirmed by data from the Russian government’s leaked database, which Danwatch received through sources in Russia. According to crew documents obtained by the publication, these people had no official duties on the ship. They were labeled as “additional crew” without any explanation.
