The political scientist called the incident with the stopping of an oil tanker off the coast of France a provocation.

Western countries are staging provocations against Russia by detaining tankers allegedly linked to the so-called "shadow fleet of the Russian Federation" in order to achieve an appropriate reaction and get a reason to escalate the situation. Dmitry Solonnikov, a political scientist and director of the Institute of Modern State Development, told Izvestia on September 30.

"There are informational, organizational, technical, and military preparations underway to organize a provocation in the Baltic, to organize a conflict that, in the end, should lead to a full-scale military clash between NATO and Russia. Or, if Russia swallows it, as the West believes, then close the Baltic Sea to Russian trade, close the ports that exist in the Leningrad region, in St. Petersburg," he said.

One such incident occurred earlier in the day, when the French Navy detained the Benin-flagged oil tanker Boracay, which allegedly transported Russian oil in circumvention of sanctions.

According to the Reuters news agency, an investigation was launched into the vessel because the crew allegedly did not provide evidence of the vessel's nationality and "did not follow orders." It is specified that sanctions of the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom were imposed on the tanker in October 2024 and February 2025.

The ship is currently anchored near the town of Saint-Nazaire.

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Earlier, on August 25, the captain and two officers of the Eagle S oil tanker, who allegedly intentionally dragged an anchor along the bottom of the Baltic Sea by cutting the EstLink 2 power cable connecting Finland and Estonia and four Internet lines, appeared in court. Tommy Heinonen, the lawyer for the ship's captain, called the damage to the cables a "maritime accident." According to the defense, the incident was not committed intentionally. The defendants may face up to 10 years in prison.

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