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.