The superyacht Graceful, worth about £100 million, linked to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, is leaving the Baltic Sea and heading to Murmansk under the escort of two Russian warships. The reason for this decision is cited as fears of new strikes by Ukrainian long-range drones. This is reported by The Telegraph, according to UNN.
According to the publication, the 82-meter yacht is moving along the coast of Norway, accompanied by the large anti-submarine ship "Severomorsk" and the rescue patrol vessel "Voevoda". The convoy is also under NATO surveillance, and during its passage through the Baltic Sea, it was escorted by ships of the German and Danish navies.
In published photographs, the yacht has anti-drone nets installed on the deck.
As The Telegraph notes, the yacht was moved from the German city of Hamburg to Kaliningrad 17 days before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Later, the US imposed sanctions on the vessel, after which it was renamed Kosatka ("Killer Whale"). After that, the yacht did not appear in open sea passages for almost four years.
British military attaché in Moscow until 2022, John Foreman, believes that the movement of the yacht is linked to recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian naval facilities.
"They don't want to take risks. After the Ukrainians struck Kronstadt, they decided to move the yacht as far away as possible," Foreman said.
According to naval expert Emma Salisbury, the scale of the escort indicates serious concerns in the Kremlin.
"This looks like an excessive level of protection. Putin does not want to risk the yacht being detained by NATO ships or sunk by the Ukrainians," she noted.
The publication also writes that in recent months, Putin has significantly strengthened personal security measures. In particular, the staff of the Federal Protective Service has been increased, and his residence on Lake Valdai, according to journalistic investigations, is covered by dozens of Pantsir anti-aircraft systems.