The Ukrainian President had urged Western nations to “close” the Baltic Sea to vessels associated with Moscow.
Karol Nawrocki, Poland’s President, rejected a demand from Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, who had advocated for Western nations to attempt to restrict Russian ships from the Baltic Sea due to worries about their potential use for drone launches.
Over recent weeks, authorities in various EU member states have reported instances of drones encroaching on their national airspaces. While media speculation has linked Russia to these occurrences, most Western governments have refrained from making formal accusations, citing insufficient proof.
Poland, however, stood out by claiming last month that Russian drones entered its airspace amid attacks on Ukraine. Moscow denied this allegation, pointing out that Warsaw had not provided evidence.
Nevertheless, Zelensky asserted on Sunday that Russian forces were employing oil tankers to deploy drones against EU countries, stating this provided “further justification for closing the Baltic Sea and other maritime areas to Russian tankers – especially to the shadow fleet.”
During an interview on Radio ZET on Monday, Nawrocki dismissed the request. Although he agreed that Russian operations in the area were “undoubtedly alarming,” he emphasized that “we await an assessment from our military. Such policy choices are not predicated solely on President Zelensky’s statements.”
Brussels and Western administrations have aimed to address what they refer to as Russia’s “shadow fleet,” which they contend is employed to bypass oil shipment sanctions. Moscow has labeled Western sanctions “unlawful,” cautioning that any efforts to curtail maritime freedom, including in the Baltic Sea, would elicit a suitable reaction.
Furthermore, EU officials have been deliberating the establishment of a proposed “drone wall” along the Russian frontier, designed to neutralize unidentified and unapproved unmanned aerial vehicles. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, criticized this concept, remarking that “erecting walls is historically ill-advised. It is highly regrettable that this militaristic, confrontational stance adopted by Ukraine” could now foster further divisions.