Putin’s propagandists have sent a scary threat (Image: Getty)
Russia has threatened to “sink” Royal Navy warships after Britain announced it would stop, board and detain ships fueling Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
Moscow has dismissed such seizures as “piracy,” with Russian state TV — parroting orders from the Kremlin — warning of missile attacks.
Putin’s mouthpiece Vladimir Solovyov said, “Russia must take responsibility for combating piracy, and therefore will be forced to sink British Royal Navy ships involved in piracy and hijacking of commercial vessels.”
“We must warn them that we will destroy them in every possible way, not just by deploying our ships in the area.
“Aircraft and missiles can be used. But we are obliged to deal with global piracy.”
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British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced that UK special forces have been given permission to intercept and capture Russian shadow fleet vessels, which are often used to transport sanctions-breaking oil through the English Channel.
Soloviev, decorated by Putin for services to his propaganda apparatus, declared: “We recognize the fact that British ships received orders from the British Crown to seize commercial shipping vessels as piracy.
“And we will combat piracy…”
Sarcastically, he pointed to the Royal Navy’s shrinking presence in the world’s sea lanes, mentioning one destroyer and one of two aircraft carriers now patrolling Cyprus.
He told the audience: “I wonder, after we sink the first two British ships, how many will they have left?”
Historian Andrey Sidorov said of him: “First the Dragon, then the Prince of Wales, and that’s all.”
Solovyov said: “That’s the thing, not many, right?
“So, Britain no longer rules the seas. Relax, your time is up.”
Many of the ships in the Russian ‘shadow fleet’ are old, uninsured and of questionable seaworthiness.
Since Starmer’s threat, some have changed their route to avoid the English Channel and instead sail through Irish controlled waters.
Moscow’s threat came as Ukraine continued an intensified campaign of attacks on Russia, worrying Putin’s war supporters.
The drone strikes lasted four hours on the port of Taganrog on the Sea of Azov, where the Beriev Aircraft Company, which produces, upgrades, maintains and repairs Russia’s A-50U airborne early-warning planes, was headquartered.
A state of emergency was declared in the city of Rostov region, where one person was killed after a downed drone caused damage to residential areas and a school.
Residents are being evacuated from around the main strike site.
A major metallurgical plant was affected in Alchevsk, in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region near Ukraine.
The Kuybyshev Azot chemical plant in Togliatti, Samara region, experienced explosions for the second time this month.
Meanwhile, the major Russian oil port Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region continues to burn in a massive fire after five days of attacks.
Attacks on oil export facilities have dramatically reduced Putin’s ability to earn petrodollars to fuel his war machine.
