Estonia-Russia ship standoff portends a harsher tone on the Baltic Sea (Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo – Defense News)

Russia’s detention of a Greek-owned ship that departed from Estonia – days after Estonian forces tried to intercept a Russia-bound tanker – signals Moscow’s willingness to deploy military power more overtly to protect its shadow-fleet, a vital pillar of its war economy, experts say. Russia temporarily stopped the oil tanker in its territorial waters on Sunday following the Estonian navy’s attempt last week to stop the unflagged and unresponsive Jaguar tanker in its exclusive economic zone.

Estonia-Russia ship standoff portends a harsher tone on the Baltic Sea