At a press conference on April 8, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the Ukrainian naval special forces unit "Group 13" is secretly using civilian cargo ships to monitor the Russian transport fleet in the Mediterranean.
This is a unit specializing in secret maritime activities, accused by Russia of using dry cargo ships to monitor Russia's transport fleet in the Mediterranean region. According to this source, Ukraine's operating methods are undergoing significant changes in geographical scope, no longer confined to the Black Sea as before.
Ms. Zakharova said that the suspected ship was registered under the name of a civilian cargo ship, regularly moving between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. However, the Russian side said that this ship was modified to carry suicide drones to attack Russian oil and gas tankers.
The clearest proof is the recent attack on the Arctic Metagaz ship. This is the first time such an operation has occurred outside the Black Sea, showing Ukraine's ambition to target Russia's energy export routes in international waters.
The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the silence of the international community for unintentionally contributing to attacks on civilian ships, seriously violating maritime safety laws. She emphasized that international organizations need to soon have serious discussions to prevent this dangerous precedent before it goes beyond control.
At the same time, Russia accused Britain and France of applying double standards in maritime security issues. According to Ms. Zakharova, these countries strongly condemned the attacks on merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz but ignored similar risks in the Mediterranean. The Russian side affirmed that this contradictory attitude not only destabilizes the region but also directly threatens global maritime safety order.
