Estonian border guards spotted machine guns on a Russian civilian gas tanker in the Gulf of Finland in May.
This is reported by the Finnish media Helsingin Sanomat.
A photo captured by border guards shows the Russian vessel Marshal Vasilevsky delivering liquefied gas to Kaliningrad. This tanker belongs to Russiaʼs “Gazprom”.
Eesti Express / PPA
The footage is being called the first evidence of heavy weapons being installed on a Russian civilian ship in European waters. According to journalists, at least 24 passengers on the gas tanker are people with experience serving in Russian security forces. It is assumed that the ship is armed in case of possible attacks from Ukraine.
- On June 23, France intercepted a tanker belonging to the Russian shadow fleet in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Sicily. The intercepted vessel, Deliver, is under sanctions by the European Union, Ukraine, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
- The tanker was flying the flag of Cameroon and had been transporting Russian oil from the port of Primorsk, mainly to China and India, since 2024, in circumvention of sanctions.
Author: Khrystyna Pitsuriak
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