A Kremlin aide warned Western powers Russia could deploy its navy to prevent seizure of Russian vessels, with Nikolai Patrushev threatening retaliation against European shipping if Russian ships are taken. Patrushev, a close Putin ally, specifically targeted Britain, France and Baltic states in his tough rhetoric against what he called "Western pirates."

Western states have sought to cripple Russia's economy with sanctions, including blocking oil tankers suspected of involvement in Russian oil shipments. The United States seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in January as part of efforts to curb Venezuelan oil exports, escalating tensions in global maritime trade routes and energy shipping.

Patrushev chairs Russia's Maritime Board and claimed NATO planned to blockade the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea. He dismissed the concept of a "shadow fleet" as a legal fiction while announcing Russia's naval shipbuilding program extending to 2050 will be submitted for approval soon.