Alexei Zhuravlev, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Defence Committee, publicly demanded that Moscow should “respond militarily" against US aggression targeting the Russian oil tanker Bella 1. Rodina party leader Zhuravlev said that the US should be answered by "striking with torpedoes and sinking a couple of American ships," reports said.
Alexei Zhuravlev said that the US action was “outright piracy” and a direct military intrusion into Russian sovereign interests. Amidst the war in Europe triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he reportedly went to the extent of saying the Kremlin “could use nukes to respond” if escalation continued. For those unversed, US European Command announced the seizure of the merchant vessel Bella 1 for violations of US sanctions in a social media post.
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The US had been pursuing the tanker since last month after it tried to evade a US blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela. Bella 1 was renamed Marinera and flagged to Russia, shipping databases show. US officials also confirmed that the ship's crew had painted a Russian flag on the side of the hull.
Zhuravlev, speaking in his capacity as a senior parliamentary defence figure rather than an official Kremlin spokesperson, asserted that “any attack on our transport vessels should be regarded as an attack on Russian territory,” Defence Security Asia quoted the hardliner as saying.
The United States is currently working on legislation which would permit imposing sanctions on countries doing business with Russia, including buyers of its energy exports, over Moscow's failure to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine. China, India, and Brazil are potential targets of the legislation, Reuters said.
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Immediately following news of the seizure, Russia's Ministry of Transport confirmed the boarding in a statement and noted that no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other states, citing the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Earlier, Moscow's Foreign Ministry had said that it was following with concern the anomalous situation that has developed around Marinera.
There are reports that a section of the Russian government is positive that a confrontation with the United States could become inevitable at some point in the near future. They find it manageable amidst the huge loss of personnel and resources on the Ukrainian front lines, and even domestically advantageous if framed as defensive retaliation. Only time will tell if Alexei Zhuravlev's words were another instance of the explosive rhetoric he is known for, or an early indication of decisions yet to be finalised.