🇷🇺 Russia seized a Greek-owned oil tanker on Sunday after it left an Estonian Baltic Sea port, the Estonian Foreign Ministry said, adding it had alerted NATO allies to the incident.
The Liberia-flagged ship Green Admire was leaving Sillamae port using a designated navigation channel that crosses Russian territorial waters, the ministry said in a statement.
In a statement published on Sunday, the ministry added that the vessel, the Green Admire, was undertaking a navigational route established in a deal between Russia, Estonia and Finland.
The Baltic nation will redirect traffic to and from Sillamea exclusively through Estonian waters to prevent similar incidents in the future, it added.
"Today’s incident shows that Russia continues to behave unpredictably,” Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said. “I have also informed our allies of the event,” he said, referring to other NATO members.
Estonian Public Broadcasting (EPB), citing the Transport Administration, reported that the Greek tanker was carrying a cargo of shale oil destined for Rotterdam in the Netherlands. It added that such incidents had never occurred before.
Vessels leaving Sillamae usually move through Russian waters to avoid Estonia’s shallows, which can be dangerous for larger tankers, the EPB said.
The incident took place after the Estonian navy on Thursday tried to stop an unflagged tanker that was said to be part of a Russian “shadow fleet” of vessels sailing through Estonian waters. Russia responded by sending a fighter jet to escort the tanker, violating Estonia’s airspace.
The “shadow fleet” is meant to help Moscow maintain its crude oil exports to avoid Western sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine.
A Greek government official said the ship had manoeuvred in Russian waters to avoid shallows and that the Russians had intercepted it and moved it to a safe place to impose a fine.
Shipping data showed the vessel’s operator was Athens-based Aegean Ship Management and one of its key insurers was listed as Norway-based Skuld. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The ship was bound for Rotterdam with a load of Estonia's shale oil, the Estonian Transport Administration said. The tanker with a maximum capacity of 700,000 barrels, was almost fully laden, LSEG ship tracking data showed.
🇷🇺 Russia didn’t just invite President Ibrahim Traoré to Moscow — they sent a state aircraft to personally pick him up from Burkina Faso. That’s not diplomacy. That’s respect.
That’s symbolism. In a world where African leaders are often summoned like subordinates, this moment flips the script. It tells a new story: of African sovereignty being recognized, of alliances built on mutual interest — not colonial residue.
While the West imposes sanctions and sends lectures, Russia sends a plane. You don’t have to agree with everything, but you can’t ignore the shift. This is not the Africa of the 1960s.
This is a continent choosing its friends, asserting its dignity, and rewriting the terms of engagement.
Whatever your stance, history will remember that on Victory Day 2025, the Sahel sent a leader — and Russia welcomed him with full honors. The balance is tilting, and the world is watching.
Russia lost 27 million lives defeating Nazi Germany & fascism. A debt & sacrifice that can never be repaid.
The world owes it's freedom to the bravery of the Russians who killed 85% of the Nazis, captured Berlin and surrounded Hitler right before he shot himself.
🇷🇺 Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken center stage at Russia’s Victory Day parade on Friday, attended by world leaders from 30 countries in a highly anticipated event.
Watching as thousands of troops marched across Moscow’s Red Square, Putin stood next to his guest of honor, the Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The annual May 9 commemoration of the Russia's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II is one of the most important days in Russia's calendar, and this year marks its 80th anniversary.
Glory to the Eternal Red Army! Glory to Russia!
Russia lost 27 million lives defeating Nazi Germany & fascism. A sacrifice that can never be repaid and the world owes it's freedom to the bravery of the Russians who killed 85% of the Nazis.
sreamsense: How has that stopped US-Isreal from beating Houtis to surrender? Is it today just heard about crashing? So far no human life is lost, they have the money and technology to get replacement instantly. We thought the soldiers of Allah are not used to surrender, but when the beating was too much; they left Allah ran to call US to surrender
There's not a single statement anywhere from the Houthis that says that they surrender.
Donald Trump is just peddling false information as usual to feed the US ego.
Infact after he said that, the Houthis denied they even had any conversation with the US. Which is true.
The Houthis have turned 3 US F-18 fighter jets into submarines chilling at the bottom of the Red Sea.
They have also shot down over 24 US MQ-9 Reaper Drones and have hit US aircraft carriers twice now. For a ragtag rebel group without an airforce or navy that's super impressive.
This is why Trump is now suing for a cease-fire. Even though the Houthis have denied ever brokering a peace deal with the US.
Another 🇺🇸 US F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier has been lost in the Red Sea, the second jet lost from the carrier in just over a week during attack by the Houthis, five people familiar with the matter told CNN.
It is not entirely clear what happened yet, as the investigation is ongoing, but two of the people said there was some kind of arrestment failure as the jet was trying to land on the carrier and the pilot and weapons systems officer had to eject. They were recovered by a rescue helicopter and are both alive, but they suffered minor injuries, one of the people said.
The jet crashed into the sea and has not been recovered, two of the people familiar with the incident said.
Separately, the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group “took a shot” at the Truman on Tuesday, four of the people said, despite President Donald Trump announcing an apparent ceasefire with the group hours earlier. It is not clear whether the two incidents are related.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense referred all questions about the incidents to the Navy and US Central Command. CNN has reached out to the Navy and CENTCOM for comment.
The loss of the fighter jet comes one week after another F/A-18 jet fell overboard the Truman. That time, initial reports indicated that the Truman made a hard turn to evade Houthi fire, which contributed to the fighter jet falling overboard.
An individual F/A-18 fighter jet costs more than $60 million, according to the Navy.
US Naval assets in the Red Sea have repeatedly come under Houthi fire since the Houthis began their attacks against Red Sea shipping in November 2023. In early 2024, a US destroyer in the Red Sea had to use its Phalanx Close-In Weapon System, its last line of defense to missile attacks, when a Houthi-fired cruise missile got as near as a mile away – and therefore seconds from impact.
The Truman aircraft carrier in particular, though, has been plagued with problems as part of its Red Sea deployment. In December, another F/A-18 fighter jet was operating from the Truman when it was “mistakenly fired” upon by the USS Gettysburg and crashed into the Red Sea. Both aviators ejected safely at the time.
Then, in February, the Truman was involved in a collision with a merchant ship near Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea. Following the incident, the commander of the Truman at the time, Captain Dave Snowden, was relieved of duty.
Captain Christopher Hill took command of the carrier shortly thereafter.
SmartPolician: The man who killed the fun-seekers has a mental issue. You should give him 50 years imprisonment so he doesn't become a threat to human lives anymore.
No he's a western terrorist and probably a Christian too.
