The threat of Russian drones on European capitals could come from the sea. Or rather, from the ships that make up the Russian shadow fleet, that oil -sized army that allows Moscow to circumvent western sanctions on Russian oil and also to perform sabotage acts. The alarm comes from the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who cites a Ukrainian intelligence report.
“Moscow uses the oil tankers of the” shadow fleet “to launch drones”
The so -called Russian “Russian Shadow” is used to “launch and control” Russian drones on European cities, said Kiev’s leader in his usual evening speech. With this alarm, Zelensky hopes in a further package of sanctions to the Russian shadow fleet, after the 19th recently introduced by the European Union. The European Commissioner for Defense is of the same line, Andrius Kubilius who, intervening at the Forum on the Security of Warsaw, has announced that the shadow fleet “which is now going through the Baltic Sea is creating many problems and dangers. Perhaps there is still no precise information, but there is a possibility that Russia uses those shadow ships to secretly launch drones from the containers”.
Alert Droni in Denmark and on a Swedish military base, the EU thinks of a “wall” in defense of the skies
More and more in the sights of western penalties, the Russian shadow fleet consists of about a thousand obsolete oil tank ships, often not insured or in poor maintenance conditions. These ships usually operate under the flag of other countries and enjoy poor transparency, which makes it difficult for regulatory authorities to identify and apply sanctions against them.
Denmark requires the flight ban on civil drones during the EU summit
The attention on the routes of the without pilot aircraft has risen after the trespassing in the European air space of the Russian drones. The last, in order of time, is the overflow on one of the military bases of Denmark and on several Scandinavian airports. Although Russia denies being behind the incursions of the drones, Sweden believes Moscow directly responsible for the overflow of the aircraft in Poland. “We have the confirmation that those who landed in Poland were Russian, we have seen them with our eyes. Russia denies all this, but it is clear that the probability that it is a signal by Russia towards the countries that support Ukraine is quite high” said the Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson, interviewed by Swedish TV4. “Everything seems to indicate that. Then, all the countries are cautious in accusing a country if you are not sure. In Poland we know it was like this” he added, also suggesting that there is Russia behind the overflow of drones in the Scandinavian skies.
A few days after the European top of Copenhagen, Sweden approved the deployment of soldiers on Danish soil with the task of reducing any hostile drones and supporting local authorities during the event. To ensure the safety of the top of the European Union, Denmark has closed the air space to civil drones until October 3, avoiding possible confusion with enemy aircraft. Anyone who violates the ban risks a fine or up to two years of imprisonment.
