**Russian warships escorted merchant vessels through the English Channel. According to a statement by the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy, the British side limited itself to monitoring the situation**

On June 14, Starmer announced the seizure of the tanker _Smyrtos_, allegedly belonging to the so-called Russian shadow fleet. On August 12, Putin called the seizure of the vessels “piracy and robbery” and said that Russia would respond in kind wherever it deemed appropriate.

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