1/ The news at the weekend that the British Royal Marines have seized a Russian shadow fleet tanker in the English Channel has aroused anger and expressions of shame from Russian warbloggers. They demand that the Russian government should take action. ⬇️ bsky.app
British forces boarding the Russian shadow fleet oil tanker SMYRTOS, sailing under the Cameroonian flag, as it transited the English Channel after departing the Russian port of Ust-Luga.
2/ 'Alex Parker Returns' characterises the seizure as "Captain Price landing on a tanker of the Russian shadow fleet. I remind you that you can get revenge on the Brit who is causing trouble by voting for United Russia and rallying more strongly around the president. Be good!" 3/ 'Novorossiya militia reports' declares: "The British have openly entered into war with Russia, no longer hiding behind either the "law" or their proxies." 4/ A common theme among the warbloggers is a demand for stern action against European 'pirates'. Oleg Tsarev says: "I will repeat what I have written many times: Russia must respond." 5/ 'Two Majors' comments: "We await the fulfillment of these ominous promises of countermeasures. Otherwise, alas, this piratical lawlessness will continue. The Russian Navy does not have enough ships to escort all the vessels... 6/ "[Without countermeasures] the shameful seizures of our tankers will continue, which will demonstrate to the entire world community our powerlessness and the inability of our capitalists to protect their own assets." 7/ 'Older than Edda' says that things will continue getting worse for the shadow fleet unless there is a firm reaction from Russia: "Without a response, this will continue to happen more frequently, more harshly, and more shamefully for us." 8/ "The response may vary: it may be under our own flag, or it may look like an accident. It may look like an environmental disaster, or it may look like a direct military strike. But there must be one, otherwise we will suffer greatly." 9/ 'Reserve Pioneer' advocates stringent 'anti-piracy' measures aboard Russian shadow fleet ships: 10/ "I remember that in some olden times, pirates were sentenced to death by hanging. A little later, ships began to be escorted by guards (modern PMCs), who could shoot anyone who posed a threat to the ship. Which option will we choose?" 11/ 'Rybar' says that the start of what it calls "British piracy" was an inevitable occurrence and suggests some countermeasures, after first dismissing the idea of regular naval convoys for Russian tankers: 12/ "[A] military convoy is an exceptional measure, impossible to implement on a large scale: Russia simply doesn't have enough ships to escort every commercial vessel through every dangerous strait. 13/ "This is precisely why the emphasis should be on comprehensive protection rather than convoys. Unmanned boats (UBKs) on board or escorted by commercial vessels are an asymmetrical and scalable tool. 14/ "Private security with a clearly defined mandate is a practice long used in other high-risk regions. Insurance and legal mechanisms to counter hijackings are a separate avenue that has so far been largely unused. 15/ "Finally, diplomatic pressure on third countries whose flags and ports are used in the chain could significantly complicate life for those organising such operations." 16/ 'Propagandists' Notebook' points out that the tanker was essentially undefended, but is gloomy about any prospect of reliation: 17/ "The crew of any tanker consists of no more than 20 people, ordinary civilians. Using special forces to detain them is like stopping people crossing the road on a red light with a line of automatic weapons. There's a lot of PR in this whole story. 18/ "At the same time, London is confident that no one will do anything to it. The ties between various [Russian] elites and Albion are too strong." /end Sources: 🔹 t.me 🔹 t.me 🔹 t.me 🔹 t.me 🔹 t.me 🔹 t.me 🔹 t.me