Britain responded to Putin's threat and defended the seizure of a Russian tanker

The UK government defended its June seizure of the Russian "shadow fleet" oil tanker MT Smyrtos in the English Channel after Vladimir Putin threatened to "respond in kind", BBC News reported.

The Smyrtos was taken to be anchored off Weymouth after Royal Marines Commandos intercepted and boarded the vessel in a first-of-its-kind operation to disrupt the sanctioned tanker. Its captain, Ajay Pant, has been charged with breaching Russian sanctions and is accused of directly or indirectly supplying or delivering prohibited Russian oil.

Putin made the threat while overseeing Russian navy drills in the Pacific Ocean, criticising Western countries for "seizing our vessels" and calling such action "nothing other than piracy and banditry". "If these plans are put into practice, we will have to respond in kind," he said, adding that Russia could act "wherever we deem it necessary and appropriate, anywhere."

Viktor Liina, commander of Russia's Pacific Fleet, accused Western countries such as Britain and France of operating their own "shadow fleets". "We have the capacity to inspect and detain vessels of unfriendly states and their shadow fleets, and interagency cooperation is in place, ready to begin addressing these challenges," Liina said.

In response to Putin's comments, the UK government said Britain's armed forces and law-enforcement officers had boarded the Smyrtos "in full accordance with international law". A government spokesperson said the UK was "disrupting and deterring shadow fleet vessels and their harmful maritime activity which is fuelling Russia's war with Ukraine", and said UK armed forces and commercial vessels operate in line with international maritime law.

Western nations allege Russia uses a "shadow fleet" to evade sanctions on oil exports imposed after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The UK Ministry of Defence says Russia has more than 700 such vessels carrying 75% of its sanctioned oil, a "critical lifeline for the Kremlin" in "sustaining Russia's illegal war".