If European states confiscate ships with Russian cargo, Moscow will respond in kind “when necessary,” Putin says. Published August 12, 2026 August 12, 2026 Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to seize European vessels if European states go ahead with plans to seize more commercial ships carrying Russian cargo. He said Russia would be ready to carry out its own seizures “where we consider it necessary and appropriate,” according to the Russian news agency TASS. List of recommended stories of 3 articlesend of list The statement comes after several European countries intercepted ships suspected of being part of Moscow’s so-called “shadow fleet”, which were transporting Russian oil in contravention of European sanctions. New sanctions approved last month allow European Union members to sell oil or other cargo confiscated from ships. Putin appeared to reference sanctions, saying some countries are trying to “restrict the movement of ships belonging to our economic operators” and recently “came up with the idea of possibly confiscating our ships and selling property that they have stolen from us.” “If these plans are put into practice, we will have to respond in kind,” Putin said in comments carried by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, calling the measures “piracy and theft.” Russia’s maritime military interests in the Pacific. NATO ‘making inroads in Asia Pacific’ Putin also accused the NATO military alliance of making inroads into the Asia Pacific region and increasing tension in the Arctic. “NATO is making inroads into the region, new political-military blocs are being formed and new weapons systems that pose a threat to Russia are being deployed or planned to be deployed,” the Russian leader said. Russia’s naval exercises in the Western Pacific come a week before joint war games between the United States and South Korea, designed to simulate a possible invasion by North Korea. Tensions are high in the region amid accusations from kyiv and Seoul that Pyongyang and Moscow are further escalating their military cooperation. On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of using North Korean missiles in a deadly airstrike across Ukraine. A day earlier, he had warned that Moscow was receiving more ballistic missiles and troops from its ally Pyongyang, a development he said posed dangers not only to Ukraine but also to East Asian countries. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has already sent thousands of troops and abundant weapons supplies to support Putin’s four-year invasion.
