UK’s attempts to seize vessels associated with Russia will not go unanswered; Moscow is already developing appropriate measures, the Russian ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, said.
“Such a decision will not go unanswered. Appropriate measures are being developed. Let this come as a surprise to the British,” Kelin said in his response to questions by RIA Novosti.
On Monday, RIA Novosti reported Andrei Kelin saying measures were being considered.
Kelin told RIA Novosti: “To protect our interests and ensure freedom of navigation, we may employ all available legal, political and other instruments – including asymmetrical ones, and not necessarily in the vicinity of British territorial waters.”
He called on the British authorities “to carefully consider the consequences of such a step.” Seizing the ships and their cargoes would lead to legal action by the shipowners and huge associated costs, the ambassador warned.
This escalation extends to the highly sensitive maritime area of the English Channel, through which more than five hundred vessels – both civilian and military – pass daily.
He also stressed that any attempt by the UK to seize vessels associated with Russia is regarded as “unacceptable and inadmissible,” and constitutes yet “another deeply hostile move against Russia.”
In late March, UK prime minister Keir Starmer authorized the British military to interdict vessels that have been sanctioned by the UK and are transiting through UK waters.
It follows the Royal Navy supporting allies with the monitoring and tracking of several ‘shadow fleet’ ships to enable interdiction in European and Mediterranean waters in recent weeks.
A number of JEF allies, including Finland, Sweden and Estonia, have carried out recent operations against suspected illegal ‘shadow fleet’ vessels in the Baltic, according to Starmer’s office release, closing off critical maritime routes to stop their operation.
The release from Downing Street notes that ships traveling through the Arctic and high north can directly threaten important “lifelines” like the sea lines of communication that connect the US to Europe.
The release said military and law enforcement specialists have been put through their paces in preparation for a number of scenarios in recent weeks, including boarding vessels that don’t surrender, are armed, or use high tech pervasive surveillance to evade capture.
Sir Keir Starmer said the UK would join northern European allies in interdicting ‘shadow fleet’ vessels as part of a drive to ‘go after’ the sanctioned ships fuelling Putin’s war in Ukraine.
