Nikolai Patrushev, aide to the Russian President and head of the Maritime Collegium, announced that Russian Navy ships will begin escorting Russian merchant vessels.

Nikolai Patrushev, aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, stated that Moscow considers the attack on a Russian liquefied natural gas tanker in the Mediterranean Sea an 'act of international terrorism,' according to Russian news agency reports.

Official says blockade on ‘shadow fleet’ would be illegal, and raises prospect of retaliation against European vessels Europe live – latest updates A senior Russian official has said Moscow could deploy its navy to protect Russian-linked vessels from potential European seizures, raising the prospect of retaliatory action against European shipping as pressure on the Kremlin’s so-called shadow fleet intensifies. Nikolai Patrushev, a former FSB director who heads Russia’s maritime board, said on Tuesday that the country’s navy should be ready to counter what he described as “western piracy”. Continue reading...