Russian fighter plane protects shadow fleet - premiere for Moscow

Russian fighter plane protects shadow fleet - premiere for Moscow

to last week a secret fleet of ships that transports Russian oil around the globe showed no clear connections to the Kremlin. This changed dramatically when Russia started a combat aircraft to apparently protect one of the tankers that is believed to be part of the fleet.

incident with the tanker Jaguar

After the Estonian military tried on May 13th, the unregistered tanker Jaguar, the early that time of Great Britain was sanctioned SU 35 fighter aircraft in Estonian airspace near the ship. The Estonian military finally accompanied the tanker from the Estonian waters.

latest developments and reactions

"This is something completely new," said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna on Thursday during a NATO meeting in Turkey. Russia has now "officially bound to the so -called shadow fleet", he added.

Other experts share this assessment. Ed Arnold, a senior scientist at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), a British think tank, told CNN that this is "a paradigm shift in the thinking of the Kremlin".

The shadow fleet and its effects

The "shadow fleet", whose ships are valued for hundreds, has no official connections to Russia. It consists of many old, poorly maintained tankers, which in some cases caused environmental damage Unterse cables in front of the Baltic Sea coast are connected. Russia has rejected any responsibility for this damage.

The tankers with often opaque property structures transport Russian oil for export to avoid western sanctions. Therefore, they themselves are targeted by other sanctions against Moscow.

military reactions and NATO presence

The use of military means by Russia in response to economic sanctions "is proof of the extent of the threat that we face on the eastern NATO front," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot to journalists in Turkey

A video that was recorded by the Jaguar bridge shows a radio call of the Estonian authorities who asked the ship to change its course. Estonian military ships and planes are visible around the tanker. CNN confirmed the details of the film, which was shared online by Margarita Simonyan, editor -in -chief of the Russian state medium RT.

safety concerns within NATO

The Portuguese F-16 jets, which are on a NATO mission to Estonia, were quickly called near to monitor the Russian aircraft. These jets are part of an increased NATO presence in Northern Europe since Russia's fully invasion in Ukraine in 2022.

"Probably the Kremlin tries to put pressure on here in the hope that the NATO countries will be intimidated by the events on Tuesday," said Arnold von Rusi.

follow and new sanctions

For the Estonians, the incident with Russian jet is proof that the western sanctions have an effect. The Estonian military said in a message that the incident "shows that monitoring and sanctioning the shadow fleet is effective and that such efforts have to be further intensified."

is certain: CNN could not find the registered owner of the Jaguar. The Russian Ministry of Defense has not commented on a request from CNN. The Kremlin previously rejected a statement on the allegations of using a "shadow fleet".

in January, after repeated incidents in which ships caused damage to the underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, NATO initiated the "Baltic Sentry" measure to strengthen its military presence in the waters. "We see the incident on Tuesday as a reaction to Baltic Sentry," NATO spokesman Colonel Martin O’Donnell told CNN. "Russia's destabilizing actions will not prevent us from ensuring maritime security, security and freedom of navigation as part of international law."

The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Friday that a new sanction package could possibly be decided on Tuesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin had not appeared with Ukraine in Turkey during the Russian appointment. Merz had previously stated that the "shadow fleet" of Russia - "which operates permanently with up to 300 ships in the Baltic Sea" - should be targeted, especially in this package.

In a possible counter -step, a Greek -obsessed oil tanker, the Green Admire, was recorded on Sunday of Russia, while they crossed Russian waters on a route agreed by Estonia, Finland and Russia, as the Estonian Foreign Minister published in a contribution.

CNN asked the owner of the ship and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond.

The Estonian authorities have carried out more than 450 controls of ships in the waters of the Baltic Sea controlled by Tallinn since June, including the Finnish Gulf, one of the main traffic arteries for Russian foreign trade.