Russian lawmaker Alexei Zhuravlev issued a stern warning to the US, suggesting that Washington could be confronted militarily if such aggression continues
The US forces’ seizure of the Russian tanker seemed to anger lawmakers in Moscow, as one of them,m named Alexei Zhuravlev, issued a stern warning on Thursday, suggesting that Washington could be confronted militarily if such aggression continues. He insisted that the US’s recent move was an “unlawful action” on the high seas.
Zhuravlev was reacting to the boarding and seizure of the tanker Marinera, formerly known as Bella 1, which was seized by the US forces in the North Atlantic. In his remarks on the matter, Zhuravlev said the United States was acting with a sense of impunity and should be “stopped” through forceful retaliation.
“To attack with torpedoes, to sink a couple of American Coast Guard boats, normally, they guard their shore several thousand kilometres away from it,” the Russian lawmaker averred. “I think the United States, which is in a kind of euphoria of impunity after the special operation in Venezuela, can only be stopped now with such a click on the nose,” he added.
A new tussle in town
Zhuravlev’s remarks on the matter came hours after the US military forces operating with the Coast Guard seized the Russian-flagged tanker in international waters north of Scotland under a warrant issued by a US federal court. Hours before the seizure, the US Coast Guard also intercepted a tanker carrying Venezuelan oil, the Panama-flagged M Sophia, near the northeast coast of South America.
This has been the fourth seizure in recent weeks. According to the records of Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, the tanker carrying the Venezuelan oil was fully loaded.
In its formal statement on the matter, Washington claimed that the Marinera vessel was part of a network of ships used to transport sanctioned oil linked to Venezuela and Iran. Meanwhile, in Russia, the seizure has been framed as a direct violation of international law and Russian sovereignty.
The Russian Ministry of Transport earlier said the Marinera received a temporary permit to sail under the Russian Federation flag on December 24, 2025. The ministry noted that the vessel was boarded by US naval forces on the high seas, outside the territorial waters of any state, after which contact with the tanker was lost.
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