Russia Sends 1 Advanced Missile Frigate to Baltic Sea as Putin Threatens Shadow Fleet Countermeasures
Updated
Updated · Ukrinform · Aug 17
Russia Sends 1 Advanced Missile Frigate to Baltic Sea as Putin Threatens Shadow Fleet Countermeasures
3 articles · Updated · Ukrinform · Aug 17
Summary
Admiral Kasatonov, a Russian Northern Fleet frigate commissioned in 2020, has entered the Baltic Sea after the arrival of the Admiral Levchenko destroyer.
The deployment follows Vladimir Putin's warning of “mirror measures” against European sanctions and actions targeting Russia's shadow fleet, though Moscow has given no official reason.
Russian sources say the Admiral Gorshkov-class warship can fire Kalibr and Zircon cruise missiles; it recently escorted Russian cargo vessels in the Mediterranean and English Channel.
Bild said Russia has increasingly used warships in recent months to escort shadow-fleet tankers and cargo ships, raising concern that naval moves could back up Kremlin threats.
Maritime security expert Moritz Brake said Moscow is trying to create uncertainty and raise the cost of Western enforcement, amid wider intelligence warnings of possible hybrid pressure on the Baltic states and Poland.