The Swedish Navy has announced that it has seen armed guards on Russian ships from the so-called “shadow fleet” for the first time, according to Deutsche Welle.
Uniformed soldiers and armed individuals, employees of private security companies, were observed on oil tankers transporting oil from Russia. This is the first time an EU country has officially confirmed the presence of armed guards on Russian ships of the “ghost fleet”.
According to Marko Petkovic, the head of operations of the Swedish Navy, Russia has generally strengthened its military presence in the Baltic Sea.
“The Russian naval presence has become permanent and visible in a significant part of the Baltic Sea,” a spokesperson for the Swedish Navy stated. “The Russian fleet is periodically present in various areas of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland and it seems to somehow support this shadow fleet.”
Sources from the Swedish military confirmed that Russian warships have a “fairly constant presence” in several specific areas adjacent to navigation routes.
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