A Russian official says Western powers that seize sanctioned vessels carrying Moscow’s oil are committing ‘piracy-like attacks’.
Published On 18 Feb 2026
A senior Kremlin official has warned that Russia’s navy could deploy to stop Western powers from seizing Russian vessels as part of sanctions against the country’s oil shipments and Moscow’s so-called “shadow fleet”.
Nikolai Patrushev, a Kremlin aide with responsibility for shipping and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was quoted on Tuesday as saying that Russia needed to send a strong message – particularly to the United Kingdom, France and Baltic states.
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“We believe that, as at all times, the best guarantor of navigation safety is the navy,” Patrushev said in comments made to Moscow’s Argumenty i Fakty newspaper, where he referred to “piracy-like attacks” by Western countries on Russian shipping.
“If we do not resist decisively, the English, the French, and even the Balts will soon be so bold as to try to block access to the seas for our country, at least in the Atlantic Basin,” he warned.
Patrushev said Russia had to be able to ship oil, grain and fertiliser to keep its economy operating. He accused Moscow’s Western opponents of targeting one of the most important sectors of the Russian economy – shipping.
“In the main maritime areas, including regions far from Russia, substantial forces must be permanently deployed – forces capable of cooling the ardour of Western pirates,” he said.
He also said that Western powers were undergoing radical technological change and modernisation in their navies, amid what he called clear “gunboat diplomacy” from Washington over Venezuela and Iran.
Russia believes, he added, that the NATO military alliance plans to blockade the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea.
“By implementing their naval blockade plans, the Europeans are deliberately pursuing a scenario of military escalation, testing the limits of our patience and provoking active retaliatory measures,” he sai