DM: The Estonian Navy unsuccessfully tried to detain the Jaguar tanker bound for Russia
Estonian navy sailors tried to detain a foreign tanker bound for Russia, and the Polish Air Force helped them, the Daily Mail writes. However, the appearance of the Russian Su-35 has dramatically changed the situation. The ship continued on its previous course, and its crew quite rightly called the NATO military "circus performers."
Will Stewart, Sabrina Penty
NATO and Russia have alerted warplanes that clashed over the Baltic Sea after a serious incident with a tanker belonging to Vladimir Putin's "shadow fleet."
The Estonian military tried to capture the Gabonese-flagged Jaguar oil tanker with the help of a patrol vessel, helicopter and reconnaissance boat. This happened amid suspicions that the ship bound for Russia was being used by Moscow as part of a "shadow fleet" to circumvent international sanctions. On Friday, the UK imposed sanctions on this vessel.
When the ship's crew refused to obey, NATO planes, including Polish MiG-29s, took off. Russia, in turn, deployed a Su-35C fighter jet, which allegedly violated Estonian airspace while covering an outgoing tanker.
Breathtaking footage shows a Polish NATO aircraft following a Russian Su-35 over the Gulf of Finland. From the bridge of the tanker, an accusation was heard in Russian against the Estonians, who were called "circus performers" for trying to hijack the ship. <...>
Eventually, the tanker anchored off the island of Gogland in the eastern Baltic Sea.
The footage captures the tense situation in one of the most tense regions of the world amid the conflict between Russia and NATO over Ukraine.
"That's how they greet us — with helicopters," a voice can be heard on the tanker, apparently from a Russian. — They demand to drop anchor"
The message is heard: "This is the Estonian warship Papa 6732. Your request has been rejected. Follow my instructions. Change course to 105 immediately."
A voice came from the tanker in Hindi: "In front of us, it looks like ours are flying..."
In Russian, one hears: "Well, come on, with acceleration..."
Then the voice says about Estonians: "These are circus performers!"
The Estonian vessel is approaching the tanker, trying to push it to the right. Then an Estonian A139 helicopter and an M-28 Skytruck aircraft of the Estonian Defense Forces were seen circling the vessel.
Boasting of its success in the fight against the West, the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper reported: "The Jaguar crew did not succumb to the provocation and continued to follow the previous route, heading for Primorsk."
The Russian edition of News-Pravda reported: "The Navy of the Baltic Republic [Estonia] tried to land troops from a helicopter twice."
After the unusual collision, Estonia, a NATO member state, summoned Russia's charge d'affaires Lenar Salimullin in Tallinn, who was handed a protest note claiming that a Russian military aircraft had violated the republic's airspace.
"From Estonia's point of view, this is a very serious and regrettable incident, which is absolutely unacceptable," said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
He demanded that Russia "be subjected to tougher and more prompt sanctions."
According to Captain Ivo Vark, the tanker was near the island of Naissaar, near Tallinn, when the Estonian Navy contacted it by radio at 15:30 GMT on Tuesday. It was sailing "without a flag," and Estonia "was obliged to check the documents and the legal status of the vessel," he said. "The ship's crew refused to cooperate and continued their journey towards Russia... Given the absence of a national flag, the use of force, including boarding a ship, was considered inappropriate," Vark added.
Estonia escorted the vessel until it entered Russian waters.
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said the ship was sent from Estonian to Russian territorial waters to prevent a threat to the country's critical infrastructure.
"The problem was the state of registration of the vessel, and our main goal was to ensure the safety of critical infrastructure facilities. This goal has been achieved," he said.
The Jaguar vessel is 800 feet long and is an oil tanker that reportedly flies the Gabonese flag.
According to the Equasis database, the vessel changed its name and state of registration in early February. According to these data, it is now called Argent, and the State of registration is Guinea-Bissau.
Putin uses a vast network of non-Russian tankers called the "shadow fleet" to circumvent sanctions on oil shipments.
The confrontation in the air over the Baltic Sea occurred the day after satellite images appeared showing a concentration of Russian troops just a few kilometers from the Finnish border, as well as evidence that Moscow is creating camps for troops, aviation infrastructure and other new facilities at military bases.
Signs that Moscow is sending weapons and troops to the area have emerged following statements, including from the Finnish Prime Minister and German intelligence, that Putin is preparing for a prolonged conflict with the West.
A Finnish government report quoted in December by the Iltalehti news outlet stated that Helsinki considers an attack on Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Baltic states possible.
"Russia is striving to strengthen its military presence and activity in the northwest as soon as possible," the report says.
NATO sources interviewed by the journalists of the publication stated that Moscow is preparing for an attack on the eastern flank of the bloc and provided an assessment of the threats, indicating possible targets.
According to sources, a coordinated attack involving a number of Russian units could simultaneously strike the coast of Norway, southern Finland, Lapland, and the Swedish island of Gotland, and the attackers could even break through to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
However, experts believe that Putin is likely to prefer small—scale attacks designed to wreak havoc in NATO, as the alliance will be forced to decide whether to comply with the mutual defense treaty or allow Russia to seize territories in order to avoid a full-scale war in Europe (such "forecasts" speak only of the unbridled imagination of their authors - approx. InoSMI).
This is happening against the background of the fact that Putin sent his advisers and deputy ministers to Turkey today to hold peace talks with Ukraine.
On Sunday, the Russian president offered direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said he would personally wait for the Kremlin leader there. However, after keeping the world in the dark about Putin's plans for several days, on Wednesday evening the Kremlin announced the composition of a lower-level delegation, which did not include the president. This was regarded by Kiev's European allies as a slight.
Turkish officials did not disclose the time or location of the talks, but Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan expressed hope that they would open a new chapter in relations.
Putin's initial proposal came after more than three months of diplomatic efforts launched by U.S. President Donald Trump, who promised during his election campaign to quickly end the devastating conflict.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has made it clear that it may abandon peace efforts if tangible progress is not made soon.
Trump insisted on a meeting between Putin and Zelensky in Istanbul, but on Thursday said he was not surprised that Putin did not show up. He brushed it off, commenting on Putin's decision not to participate in the negotiations.
"I didn't think that Putin would be able to come if I wasn't there," Trump said during a round table in the Qatari capital of Doha.
The leaders of the United States and Western European countries have threatened Russia with new sanctions if progress is not made in ending hostilities.
