Russian Navy ships providing escort for "shadow fleet" tankers, Finland's Defence Minister confirms

Finland's Minister of Defence has stated that Russia's "shadow fleet" tankers were recently detected transiting the Gulf of Finland with some ships of the Russian Navy providing escort.

Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen confirmed the development during an interview with local media outlet YLE on Saturday, May 24, adding that this latest move by Moscow was "unprecedented," though the latter's forces have been present in the region in limited numbers for some time.

The confirmation by Mr Häkkänen came just one day after the Defence Ministry reported an incident wherein two Russian military aircraft allegedly penetrated Finnish airspace without authorisation.

The deployment of Russian Navy ships for tanker escort duties in the Gulf of Finland is the latest escalation in the wake of a new round of sanctions against Russia recently announced by the UK and the EU.

Last week, Russia had announced that it will defend its tankers that will be sailing through the Baltic Sea.