MOSCOW — In a sharp escalation of maritime tensions, Russia on Saturday accused NATO of deliberately obstructing freedom of navigation in the Baltic Sea, warning that the alliance’s expanded naval operations are raising the risk of regional conflict.
Russia’s Ambassador to Norway, Nikolai Korchunov, condemned NATO’s newly launched “Baltic Sentinel” mission, which he said uses the pretext of underwater infrastructure threats to increase the alliance’s military footprint near Russian waters.
“We note the deliberate policy of NATO member countries to restrict freedom of navigation in the region,” Korchunov said, “launching for these purposes, under the pretext of, among other things, threats to underwater infrastructure, the alliance’s ‘Baltic Sentinel’ mission, which is accompanied by the strengthening of the naval group operating in the open sea, as a result of which the military-political situation in the region has become significantly more complicated and the risks of possible escalation and conflict have increased.”
The comments come amid a growing pattern of Western restrictions targeting Russian-linked maritime operations. Since July 1, Germany has imposed new checks on eastbound ships traversing the Baltic Sea, demanding proof of oil spill insurance. Berlin claims the measures aim to rein in the so-called “shadow fleet,” a term used by European officials to describe tankers allegedly circumventing Western sanctions.
Mounting pressures under the guise of environmental safety
Germany’s Foreign Ministry defended the move as a necessary effort to ensure maritime safety and environmental protection. However, critics in Moscow view the crackdown as part of a broader strategy to choke Russia’s access to energy markets through indirect sanctions.
Sweden has announced plans to follow suit, aligning with Berlin’s narrative, according to statements cited by RIA Novosti Russian Media news outlet, made in the German capital. The sweeping checks and surveillance efforts by NATO-aligned nations have compounded friction in what had previously been a stable sea route for commercial navigation.
“It is obvious that in the current conditions, the forces and resources of the Baltic Fleet and other security structures of the Russian Federation in the Baltic Sea region are an important factor in ensuring freedom of navigation both in the interests of the Russian Federation and third countries,” Korchunov emphasized.
Historical memory and geopolitical parallels
Drawing an unexpected parallel with 17th- to 19th-century European maritime interference, Korchunov accused countries like Poland, Germany, and Sweden of repeating a cycle of economic blockade through military means.
“They also tried with all their might to prevent ships carrying Russian goods from passing through the Baltic to the priority markets of Britain, Holland and France,” he said. “The Swedes did not even shy away from pirate seizures. Ultimately, these efforts, as is known, ended in failure. It is regrettable that the spirit of unfair rivalry and confrontation is once again being instilled in the Baltic, which for decades has been a platform for peaceful multilateral cooperation.”
The rhetoric suggests a deliberate attempt by Russia to reframe current tensions in terms of historic European hostility, reinforcing its claims of unjust Western aggression.
Putin’s warning and international pushback
The diplomatic salvo follows earlier remarks from President Vladimir Putin, who warned during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in June that interference with so-called shadow fleets would destabilize global hydrocarbon markets.
“Attempts to strike at the so-called ‘shadow fleet’ would affect global hydrocarbon prices,” Putin cautioned during the SPIEF plenary session.
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, also weighed in on the issue in May, describing the EU’s enforcement measures as a flagrant breach of international maritime law.
“The actions of EU countries to forcibly stop civilian ships, undertaken under the pretext of combating the ‘shadow fleet’, [constitute] a gross infringement on freedom of navigation,” Nebenzya stated at the UN.
The widening divide in the Baltic
The Baltic Sea, long a corridor of cooperation between Russia and its northern European neighbors, is fast becoming another theater of confrontation between Moscow and the NATO alliance. While NATO frames its expanded naval missions as responses to emerging threats, including sabotage of undersea cables and pipelines, Moscow views the buildup as a thinly veiled attempt to isolate Russia economically and militarily.
Korchunov’s comments mark the latest in a series of increasingly assertive statements from Russian officials who see the current policy shift as part of a broader Western agenda to provoke confrontation in Europe’s northern waters.
While NATO has not officially responded to Korchunov’s statements, Western officials have consistently denied any intent to target Russian shipping. Nevertheless, with more surveillance aircraft, warships, and inspection regimes operating in the region, the line between security and provocation is growing thinner.
As tensions mount, the Baltic Sea—once an arena for oil transit and peaceful navigation—now echoes with Cold War overtones.
