Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The incident happened while Estonia tried to detain a Russian-bound vessel, which was part of the Russian Shadow Fleet.
The incident happened while Estonia tried to detain a Russian-bound vessel, which was part of the Russian Shadow Fleet.
Shadow Fleet vessel on the move
Tuesday, the Estonian Navy attemped to detain an oil tanker bound for Russia. The vessel is sanctioned under Britain and sailed without a flag, which is illegal.
Refused to cooperate
The Vessel, Jaguar, is a part of the Russian Shadow Fleet and was sanctioned by Britain last Friday. When approached by the Estonian navy, the ship refused to cooperate, which made the Estonian Navy escort the ship to Russian waters instead of boarding it.
Spotted near Russian port
Thursdag, Jaguar was spotted anchored near the Russian port of Primorsk. There it was suddenly listed under the flag of Gabon, a Central African nation.
Russian jet sent to prevent seizure
On X, head of Russia’s state media outlet RT, Margarita Simonyan, said that a Russian Su-35 military jet was sent to prevent the seizure of the vessel. During this attempt, the jet violated Estonian airspace, meaning it violated NATO airspace.
Foregin Minister: Tougher sanctions needed
According to Reuters, Estonian Foreign Minister, Margus Tsahkna, said on X that Russia “must face tougher, faster sanctions”.
The Russian Su-35
The Sukhoi Su-35 is single-seat air-defence fighter. It is an improved version of the Su-27, originally developed by the Soviet Union. It has been used multiple times during the war in Ukraine, but most notably, in September of 2023, a S-35 was shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile in a friendly fire incident.