The key facts
- In an article for Kommersant, Lavrov compared the EU's actions to 'piracy' and said the term 'shadow fleet' is absent from international law.
- He stated that freedom of navigation must extend to all countries and waters without exception.
- Moscow, according to the minister, will respond with a 'mirror and asymmetric response' to pressure and blackmail.
Lavrov's statement on shipping and retaliatory measures
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an article for the newspaper Kommersant accused European countries of attempting to impose their own rules on international shipping and warned of retaliatory measures. In his view, the detention of foreign vessels and the seizure of their cargoes under the pretext of fighting the so-called shadow fleet are unacceptable, and such actions 'will be met with a mirror and asymmetric response' — a reply that may differ from the initial steps in form and character.
The essence of Moscow's grievances
Lavrov compared what is happening to the practices of past centuries, when the capture of merchant ships was part of maritime piracy. 'The European Union, turning into a military bloc (and clearly suffering from delusions of grandeur), has recalled the times of slavery and piracy and taken up the open seizure of foreign vessels and the theft of their cargoes,' the minister wrote. He also criticized the very term 'shadow fleet' and the price cap mechanism on Russian energy resources, calling them tools used to justify actions against vessels and cargoes; according to him, the concept of a 'shadow fleet' does not exist in international law.
The principle of freedom of navigation
Separately, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry addressed the principle of freedom of navigation, stressing that it cannot be applied selectively: the right to move freely along sea routes must extend to all states and all waters without exception. 'Freedom of navigation must be ensured everywhere, for all countries and in all maritime areas,' Life.ru quotes the minister as saying.
Context
The publication of the article was not Lavrov's only recent public statement: earlier, Life.ru reported that the minister backed the US proposal to make security issues the central topic of talks on Ukraine in Abu Dhabi — with discussion of not only guarantees for Kyiv but also the security of Russia and the entire region. The article about the statement regarding the EU was published on November 9, 2026; the publication itself does not report any specific reaction from the European Union or any facts of specific vessels being detained.
