Putin redeploys warships to the Baltic amid threats against Europeans - Bild
Kyiv • UNN
Russia has reportedly deployed the missile frigate "Admiral Kasatonov" in the Baltic Sea following the destroyer "Admiral Levchenko". Putin threatens "mirror measures" in response to sanctions against the "shadow fleet".
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin is intensifying the threat in the Baltic Sea — just days after the "Admiral Levchenko" destroyer, the modern missile frigate "Admiral Kasatonov" from Russia’s Northern Fleet also arrived in the Baltic, and the deployment is taking place at a time when Putin is threatening Europe with countermeasures in response to sanctions against Russia’s "shadow fleet," Bild reports, writes UNN.
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With the "Admiral Kasatonov," the publication writes, Moscow is sending one of its most modern warships to the Baltic Sea. The newspaper Kieler Nachrichten was the first to report this. The frigate, commissioned in 2020, belongs to the "Admiral Gorshkov" class and, according to Russian sources, can fire Kalibr and Zircon cruise missiles. Most recently, it was deployed to provide security for and escort Russian cargo ships in the Mediterranean Sea and the English Channel.
At the end of July, Russia had already deployed the "Admiral Levchenko" destroyer from the Russian Northern Fleet to the Baltic Sea. The warship, more than 160 meters long, belongs to the Soviet-era "Udaloy" class and has been in service since 1988. The "Admiral Levchenko" was initially designed to combat submarines and is equipped with anti-aircraft systems, torpedoes, deck guns, and onboard helicopters. Moscow has made no official statements regarding the reasons for its deployment. However, Russia has increasingly been deploying warships for several months to escort tankers and cargo ships belonging to the "shadow fleet," the publication notes.
Just a few days ago, Putin threatened European states that are taking measures against Russia’s "shadow fleet." He called inspections by Western states "nothing other than piracy and robbery" and said that Russia would respond with "mirror measures." He was referring to Russian boardings of European merchant vessels. The Kremlin dictator did not mention that, unlike European merchant vessels, "shadow fleet" ships deliberately circumvent sanctions and disregard international maritime rules, the publication notes.
Maritime security expert Moritz Brake reportedly warns against perceiving Putin’s threats as mere rhetoric. "Strategically, Moscow is primarily attempting to create uncertainty and increase the cost of Western measures against its ‘shadow fleet,’" he explains. For precisely this reason, Europe must not get the impression "that such threats will be tolerated, especially if they are followed by actions," Brake said.