Nicolai Haugsted
Explosive Kremlin leak: Russia claims right to attack ships linked to its enemies.
Russia’s confrontation with Europe may not be limited to sanctions, diplomacy and the battlefields of Ukraine if remarks attributed to one of Vladimir Putin’s closest political allies are anything to go by.
Leaked Telegram messages reportedly involving former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev contain an extraordinary argument for widening Moscow’s military operations against commercial shipping linked to countries regarded by the Kremlin as enemies.
Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, reportedly discussed the possibility of striking vessels even outside Russian territorial waters. Precisely when the messages were exchanged remains unclear, while Putin’s response has not been disclosed.
According to Express, the reported exchange concerns European action against vessels associated with Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, a network Moscow has used to move goods and circumvent international sanctions.
Medvedev reacted furiously to seizures of vessels carrying cargo serving Russian interests, according to the leaked material.
“Those European dogs have no right to detain commercial vessels sailing under non-Russian flags but carrying cargo in Russia’s interests,” Medvedev wrote.
His argument went considerably further than simply condemning the detentions.
Medvedev claimed Moscow could regard commercial ships belonging to hostile countries as legitimate targets if Russian authorities had sufficient reason to believe they were transporting cargo beneficial to an enemy.
Such operations, he suggested, would not necessarily have to remain confined to Russian waters.
Threat extends beyond the Black Sea
Western commercial shipping frequently operates under flags belonging to countries other than those where vessels or their owners are based. Medvedev cited that practice while arguing that Russia could apply similar logic when identifying potential targets.
According to the former president, Russian forces “are capable of dramatically expanding their operations beyond the Black Sea!”
No response from Putin accompanying the reported messages has been made public, making it unclear whether the Russian president supported, rejected or simply received Medvedev’s proposal.
The timing of the disclosure nevertheless comes during another period of intense military activity around the Black Sea.
Ukraine keeps pressure on Russian fleet
Ukrainian forces recently carried out a large nighttime operation against a major Russian naval facility on the Black Sea coast, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Kyiv reportedly deployed anti-ship missiles alongside aerial and maritime drones during the attack.
Ukraine has invested heavily in unmanned naval technology since Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than four years ago. Ukrainian sea drones have repeatedly targeted Russian warships and oil tankers, forcing Moscow to reconsider how it operates its once-dominant Black Sea Fleet.
Kyiv says those attacks have substantially restricted the Russian navy’s freedom of movement.
Medvedev’s reported comments would represent a much broader proposition. Rather than focusing exclusively on Ukrainian military targets, his argument raises the prospect of Russian action against commercial vessels associated with other countries — potentially extending the maritime confrontation far beyond the waters where Russia and Ukraine currently fight.
