Russian President Vladimir Putin has authorized military escorts for Moscow’s so-called “ghost fleet” of covert tankers amid NATO’s BALTOPS war games in the strategic Baltic Sea region. NATO, with participation from 17 nations and 50 vessels led by USS Mount Whitney and USS Paul Ignatius, is reinforcing maritime security near undersea infrastructure. U.S. Vice Admiral J.T. Anderson described BALTOPS as a “visible demonstration” of alliance unity.
Western analysts report Russia’s aging phantom fleet is being used for espionage, sanctions evasion, and cutting undersea cables—a threat NATO now actively counters through stop-and-search operations . When these interceptions escalated, Moscow responded by assigning naval escorts in the Gulf of Finland, aiming to protect the fleet and challenge NATO’s efforts.
NATO and EU have launched Baltic Sentry and other regional missions to secure critical pipelines and communications lines. The EU recently sanctioned hundreds of shadow-fleet vessels, including double sanctioning 342 Russian-flagged ships. Finland’s foreign minister and others warn these covert maritime operations pose a direct threat under hybrid conflict doctrine .
Despite the Kremlin’s veiled strategy and military posturing, NATO remains poised. The BALTOPS exercises aim to deter miscalculations in narrow Baltic waters crowded with military and civilian traffic. Experts caution Russia’s escorts risk unintended confrontations as threat-reduction channels remain inactive.
NATO’s strengthened naval presence reaffirms Western resolve to defend undersea infrastructure from Russian sabotage. Putin’s move to shield the ghost fleet has only heightened the strategic stakes in Europe’s maritime security landscape.
