Russian lawmaker Alexei Zhuravlev on Thursday issued an incendiary warning to the United States following the seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker by US forces in the North Atlantic, suggesting that Washington could be confronted militarily if it continues what Moscow views as unlawful actions on the high seas.
Reacting to the boarding and seizure of the tanker Marinera, formerly known as Bella 1, Zhuravlev said the United States was acting with a sense of impunity and should be “stopped" through forceful retaliation.
“To attack with torpedoes, to sink a couple of American Coast Guard boats, normally, they guard their shore several thousand kilometres away from it," Zhuravlev said.
“I think the United States, which is in a kind of euphoria of impunity after the special operation in Venezuela, can only be stopped now with such a click on the nose," he added.
Zhuravlev’s remarks came hours after US military forces, operating with the Coast Guard, seized the Russian-flagged tanker in international waters north of Scotland under a warrant issued by a US federal court.
Hours before, the US Coast Guard also intercepted a tanker carrying Venezuelan oil, the Panama-flagged M Sophia, near the northeast coast of South America, the US officials said, in the fourth seizure in recent weeks.
The tanker was fully loaded, according to records of Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA.
Washington claims the Marinera vessel was part of a network of ships used to transport sanctioned oil linked to Venezuela and Iran.
Meanwhile, in Russia, the seizure has been framed as a direct violation of international law and Russian sovereignty.
Russian officials have insisted that the tanker was lawfully registered under the Russian flag and was operating in accordance with both Russian and international regulations.
The Russian Ministry of Transport earlier said the Marinera received a temporary permit to sail under the Russian Federation flag on December 24, 2025.
According to the ministry, the vessel was boarded by US naval forces on the high seas, outside the territorial waters of any state, after which contact with the tanker was lost.
Russian authorities have repeatedly cited the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which guarantees freedom of navigation in international waters and restricts the use of force against foreign-flagged vessels.
The seizure of the Marinera has heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington, particularly amid reports that Russian naval assets, including a submarine, were operating in the vicinity during the US operation.
While the Kremlin has not formally endorsed Zhuravlev’s call for retaliation, his remarks underscore the increasingly hardline rhetoric emerging from Russian lawmakers.
The incident has added to already strained relations between Russia and the West, with Moscow accusing Washington of using sanctions enforcement as a pretext for military pressure and unilateral actions on the high seas.
Source: News18