Russia will respond by seizing ships from EU countries if they implement the provisions of the latest sanctions package , putting up for sale oil or other goods seized by Russian ships of the so-called 'shadow fleet'. The warning was issued by Vladimir Putin, who, attending naval exercises in the Pacific, condemned the European plans as acts of "piracy and robbery" . Speaking to sailors lined up on the deck of the guided-missile cruiser Varyag, off the coast of Sakhalin Island, the Kremlin leader also raised the alarm over what he called NATO's "infiltration" into the Asia-Pacific , warning that "the potential for conflict is growing" in the region.

"New military-political blocs are being created, new weapons systems are being deployed or their deployment is being planned, which poses threats to our country," the Russian leader said.

Russia's recent naval maneuvers , among other things, come a week before joint US-South Korean maneuvers, which will simulate an attack by North Korea. This comes as Seoul and Kiev affirm that Moscow and Pyongyang are intensifying their military cooperation.

Regarding the European Union, Putin said that "the authorities of some countries, in violation of international maritime law, are trying to restrict the movement of vessels belonging to our peaceful economic operators." But recently, "they have even come up with the idea of seizing our ships and reselling the property they have stolen from us."

The latest European sanctions package, approved last month, allows countries that intercept Russian oil tankers or other merchant vessels targeted by EU sanctions to sell the crude oil or any other cargo seized from the vessels. And in recent days, according to documents seen by AFP, Swedish justice has ruled that a Russian merchant vessel seized in March, which Kiev claims was carrying grain from occupied Ukrainian territories, be handed over to Ukraine. If measures like these are implemented, "we will be forced to respond symmetrically," Putin made clear, emphasizing that this might not necessarily occur in the waters where incursions against Russian vessels occur, "but where we ourselves deem necessary and appropriate, anywhere."

Meanwhile, Russian-Ukrainian air strikes continue. Moscow reported that at least six civilians, including two children, were killed in drone strikes by Kiev forces on Russian or Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine. In the Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk, three people, including an 8-year-old boy, were killed and over 20 were injured, according to the region's governor. In the border region of Kursk, the governor reported the killing of another civilian. Local authorities also reported the deaths of a 13-year-old boy in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian region of Lugansk and a man in occupied Crimea.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a base used by naval vessels in Novorossiysk had been hit, which he called "the last major outpost of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, more than 300 kilometers from the front line."

(Unioneonline)

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