Following the UK’s detention of the SMYRTOS tanker, which is linked to Russia’s «shadow fleet,» former Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin proposed placing explosives on Russian civilian vessels. He noted that this would allow the destruction of such vessels if they were seized, according to The Moscow Times.
«The tankers we use need to be mined. The explosion should be triggered by a corresponding command or if the vessel is forced to change route and call at a foreign port. If something explodes under their noses several times, causing an oil spill and the corresponding environmental consequences, they’ll immediately come to their senses,» Rogozin said.
Russian military bloggers also supported Rogozin’s idea, noting that such a proposal no longer seems outlandish.
According to them, there had been previous expectations that Russia would resort to other measures in response to the detention of the ships, including the use of private security companies. However, it subsequently became clear that this idea did not receive government support. They also expressed the opinion that the explosion of the tanker during its seizure off the UK coast and the potential environmental disaster could raise questions among the British public about their government’s actions.
If the Russian leadership were to implement such plans, the environmental damage to Europe could be enormous. The consequences would affect millions of people.
