The Kremlin has slammed the seizure of a tanker in the Atlantic by France and other navies as "illegal."
According to Sky News, French navy has intercepted an oil tanker under international sanctions that was coming from Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced the interception in a social media post on Monday, June 1, adding that it happened with support from several allies, including the UK.
He wrote on X, “(The ship was seized) in international waters, with the support of several partners including the United Kingdom, in strict compliance with the law of the sea. It is unacceptable for ships to circumvent international sanctions, violate the law of the sea, and fund the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years.”
The ship called Tagor was boarded in international waters in the Atlantic on Sunday.
Macron also shared footage of a soldier abseiling from a helicopter onto the tanker and two armed soldiers marching around the deck.
French maritime authorities said the tanker, which was travelling from the northwestern Russian port of Murmansk, was intercepted more than 400 nautical miles west of France.
The seizure sparked condemnation and action from Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “We consider these acts as illegal, they border on international piracy. Russia is taking measures to ensure the safety of its cargo."
Russia is believed to be using a fleet of vessels, often referred to as its shadow fleet, to carry oil and goods around the world to avoid sanctions on Moscow following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
France and other countries, including the UK, have vowed to crack down on the Russian shadow fleet.
