Kathrine Frich
Putin himself has not yet commented on the incident.
A maritime confrontation far from land has spilled into open political theatre, with Washington and Moscow trading claims about who blinked first.
The incident has also fed into a wider argument about sanctions, shadow shipping and how far each side will go.
Trump’s claim
Donald Trump told Fox News that Russian naval escorts pulled away as US forces moved to seize the oil tanker Marinera, formerly known as Bella 1.
“I don’t want to say that, but the fact is that the Russian ships, it was a submarine and a destroyer, they both left very quickly when we arrived,” Trump said. “And we took over the ship, and the oil is being unloaded right now.”
The remark appears to align with reports cited by the Daily Express that Moscow stepped back during the high-seas operation, despite earlier assertions that the vessel was under Kremlin “protection.”
Moscow’s response
Russian officials later said the US agreed to release two Russian citizens from the detained crew, describing the decision as a response to Moscow’s appeal.
“In response to our appeal, US President D. Trump decided to release two Russian citizens from the crew of the tanker ‘Mariner’, which was previously detained by the American side during an operation in the North Atlantic,” Russia’s foreign ministry said.
“We welcome this decision and express our gratitude to the US leadership. We are proceeding to urgently work out all issues related to ensuring the speedy return of our compatriots to their homeland.”
Fury and fallout
The Daily Express reported that Dmitry Medvedev described the seizure as “a criminal seizure of a civilian vessel,” arguing Russia should not respond within maritime law.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian commentators and open-source group InformNapalm were cited as suggesting Russia’s later strikes, including an Oreshnik launch, were meant as a political message rather than a battlefield necessity.
Volodymyr Zelensky was quoted as urging stronger international pressure, saying: “We cannot lose a single day.”
Sources: Daily Express, Russian Foreign Ministry statements, InformNapalm.
