Izvestia publishes footage of the Russian ship Baltic leader, detained in the English Channel and transferred to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France.
The interception of the Russian ship became known earlier in the day. It is known that the ship is commercial, it transported cars to St. Petersburg. On board, according to the Russian embassy in France, there is a crew of 19 people.
Presumably, the detention is due to the fact that the cargo ship belongs to a Russian company, against which the European Union has imposed sanctions. It was reported that the ship may belong to PSB Leasing, but Izvestia denied this information.
“This information is not true. <...> The vessel was bought by the owner before the imposition of sanctions in accordance with the terms of the leasing agreement,” the statement said.
The Russian Embassy sent a note of protest to the French Foreign Ministry. The crew is allowed to move freely around the city.
The day before, French President Emmanuel Macron said that France would impose its own sanctions against Russia in addition to the second package of measures that were approved by EU leaders.
The day before, the French leader, during a telephone conversation, called on his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to immediately stop the operation to protect Donbass. The President of the Russian Federation, in turn, gave “exhaustive explanations” of the reasons and circumstances for the decision to conduct a special operation.
On February 24, Putin announced a special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass. After that, the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Russian Federation of hitting the country’s military infrastructure and introduced martial law throughout Ukraine. He also said that Kyiv is breaking off diplomatic relations with Moscow and withdrawing its diplomats from the embassy.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.