Russia intends to seize foreign vessels, particularly in the Pacific Ocean, in response to the fight against ships of its shadow fleet, Vladimir Putin stated during a visit to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, where he took part in Pacific Fleet exercises.

"We see that the authorities of some countries, in violation of international maritime law, are attempting to restrict the movement of peaceful vessels belonging to our economic operators. And recently, they even conceived the idea of ​​seizing our vessels and selling the property they stole from us... If this is put into practice, we will be forced to respond in kind. And not necessarily in the waters where they plan to raid our ships and vessels, but where we ourselves deem it necessary and appropriate. Anywhere. Including in the Pacific Fleet's area of ​​responsibility," Putin said.

He stated that he had already issued a corresponding instruction to the Russian Ministry of Defense and criticized the decision of the European Union and several countries to restrict the movement of vessels belonging to Russian operators.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet of the aggressor state, Viktor Liina, in turn, stated that 1,001 vessels have sailed near the Russian-controlled Kuril Islands in recent months, 379 of which were flagged by states unfriendly to Russia. As reported, in July, the EU approved the 21st sanctions package against Russia, which, among other things, imposed sanctions on oil traders and entities facilitating the activities of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet."

In early August, the US Senate overwhelmingly approved a large-scale sanctions bill against Russia, developed based on the initiatives of the late Senator Lindsey Graham. This bill also aims to increase economic pressure on Russia and provides for tariffs of up to 100% on goods from countries that remain the largest buyers of Russian oil and gas or facilitate sanctions evasion.

Meanwhile, the Defense Forces continued to strike vessels belonging to Russia's "shadow fleet" in the Black and Azov Seas.