Denmark can block Russian tankers if they’re used to launch drones — Ukrainian diplomat

Diplomat and former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko made this statement on Espreso TV.

He commented on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s statement that Russia is using its tanker fleet to launch and control drones in Europe.

“If there is such information, then of course it should be shared — I believe that has already been done with the intelligence services of European countries, which should be aware that this threat exists. What should be done in this situation? In such a case, you need to block access for Russian — either directly Russian or tanker fleets that operate in Russia’s interests and transport oil from Russian ports in the Baltic,” the diplomat said.

Ohryzko explained how to do it.

“In fact, it’s not difficult, because to reach the North Sea one must pass through a narrow strait controlled by a NATO country — Denmark. So, all alliance members should help Denmark, and doing this is actually not that hard: inspect every tanker going to or from Russia. If this is done seriously, believe me, if a tanker is equipped to launch drones, it will be detected in any case,” the former minister said.

He believes that if the issue is tackled seriously, the threat can be quickly reduced or eliminated.

“Again — slogans aren’t enough, action is needed. If there is no action, believe me, it won’t be only drones that fly, rockets will fly too. And again, Russia will say it wasn’t them. And interestingly, you mentioned war criminal Lavrov at the General Assembly. Well, at his press conference he said: ‘If you NATO countries see any aircraft over your territory, then shoot them down — what’s the problem. They aren’t ours, I don’t know what they are. Shoot them down by all means, but if you shoot down over our territory, oh, then it will be very bad,’” the diplomat said.

Ohryzko noted that if Russian officials themselves say “it’s not ours, do with them what you want,” then NATO should respond as it sees fit.

“My God, why have a discussion within NATO about whether they pose a threat to the population or not? Listen, it’s astonishing. Objects are flying over your head that could theoretically fall and kill someone or destroy a facility. And you start debating what to do with them. I think that’s simply an invitation for Russia to do even more,” the ex-minister concluded.

• Recently, Denmark has repeatedly closed Aalborg Airport due to suspicious objects in the sky.
• On the night of Saturday, September 27, drones were spotted near several military sites. The Danish Defense Command is working with police to monitor drones flying near key and military facilities.