The United States pointed to the lack of evidence linking the Boracay tanker to the UAV incidents.

The claims that the Boracay oil tanker detained in France is allegedly linked to drone incidents over Europe are unsubstantiated and necessary to justify the pursuit of the vessel. This opinion was expressed on October 1 by American political scientist, retired US Lieutenant Colonel Earl Rasmussen in an interview with Izvestia.

Vladislav Vlasyuk, the presidential commissioner for sanctions policy, made the relevant accusation a day earlier, without providing any evidence.

"I think they're using drones as an excuse to track the ship and approach it. I think the drones are flying from Ukraine, not from somewhere else," Rasmussen said.

The expert noted that the public is unlikely to see any evidence of such statements. In his opinion, the party accusing the ship's crew is trying to directly involve the United States and the NATO bloc in the conflict with Russia in this way.

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On September 30, the French Navy detained the Benin-flagged oil tanker Boracay, which allegedly transported Russian oil in circumvention of sanctions. An investigation into the vessel was launched because the crew allegedly failed to provide evidence of the vessel's nationality and "failed to comply with orders."

As Vasily Koltashov, head of the Center for Political and Economic Studies, told Izvestia, the provocations of Western countries against tankers allegedly transporting Russian oil may indicate the desire of these states to fix their own economic problems at the expense of other people's resources.

According to American political analyst James Jatras, the detention of the Boracay oil tanker in France is an attempt by the authorities of this country to shift the attention of citizens from domestic problems to Russia. The expert noted that this is not only about France, but also about the UK. At the same time, he added, this will soon become relevant for Germany.

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