France claims to have detained ‘Russian shadow fleet’ tanker

French soldiers onboard the Boracay oil tanker off Saint-Nazaire, France’s Atlantic coast. © AP Photo / Mathieu Pattier
RT | October 2, 2025
France has said it has detained an oil tanker and two crew members linked to an alleged Russian ‘shadow fleet’ supposedly used to evade Western sanctions on oil and gas exports.
French authorities said the tanker, the Boracay, which has been sanctioned by the EU, was sailing under a Benin flag and is currently under investigation for “serious irregularities.” French naval forces reportedly boarded the vessel last week, and it has since remained anchored near Saint-Nazaire on France’s west coast.
The two crew members, who introduced themselves as the captain and first mate, have been taken into custody, according to the prosecutor of the western port city of Brest, Stephane Kellenberger.
Media reports suggest investigators also suspect the vessel could have been linked to unidentified drones that were observed near Danish airports and military sites last month, prompting restrictions on civilian UAV flights.
French President Emmanuel Macron has claimed the Boracay crew are suspected of committing “various serious offences” which justified their detention. He did not confirm any link between the tanker and airspace violations in Denmark.
Moscow has said it has no information about the vessel being referred to by the French authorities or the allegations against it.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted, however, that Western European nations have been engaging in a “very large number of provocative actions” in various waters, which he said are “absolutely not conducive to ensuring freedom of commercial navigation.” He added that these actions sometimes force Russia’s armed forces to take “enforcement measures.”
Russia has consistently rejected Western sanctions as illegal and warned that attempts to restrict its vessels’ freedom of navigation would draw a response.
Moscow has also dismissed Western claims about Russian drone activity in Western Europe as unsubstantiated and politically motivated. Russian officials have warned that Ukraine could attempt to stage a false flag operation using drones in an attempt to draw NATO into a direct confrontation with Moscow.
EU leaders ‘want to go to war’ with Russia – Orban
RT | October 2, 2025
The EU leadership appears intent on pushing the bloc into a war with Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Thursday.
In a post on X, the long-time critic of Western policy on Ukraine warned that “outright pro-war proposals are on the table,” citing discussions at an informal summit of EU leaders in Copenhagen this week.
“They want to hand over EU funds to Ukraine. They are trying to accelerate Ukraine’s accession with all kinds of legal tricks. They want to finance arms deliveries. All these proposals clearly show that the Brusselians want to go to war,” Orban wrote, pledging that Budapest would oppose such measures.
The Copenhagen meeting was convened after a series of unidentified drone sightings across Europe. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her government could not determine the origin of the aircraft but claimed that “we can at least conclude that there is primarily one country that poses a threat to Europe’s security – and that is Russia.”
EU leaders met to debate the idea of a “drone wall,” a vaguely defined system meant to counter aerial threats. Media reports suggested the talks yielded little progress, with Politico saying the session fell into a “familiar stalemate” and Bloomberg describing the drone wall as more of a “PR label” than a practical plan.
Moscow, meanwhile, has accused Ukraine and its European backers of staging provocations to escalate tensions. Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed this week that the recent drone incursion into Polish airspace – blamed on Moscow by Warsaw – was actually a Ukrainian false-flag operation and predicted more such incidents ahead.
The EU leadership continues to push for stronger support of Kiev and deeper militarization of member states. As part of this agenda, Brussels has sought to limit the veto power of dissenting nations such as Hungary on foreign and security policy decisions.
Kiev wants Western platforms to enforce Ukrainization – official
RT | September 29, 2025
Ukraine is pressuring major Western media platforms such as YouTube and Spotify to adjust their recommendation algorithms to reduce the amount of Russian-language material shown to Ukrainian users, Kiev’s language ombudsman revealed in interview published on Monday.
Speaking to RBC-Ukraine, Elena Ivanovskaya claimed that Russian content “is not just entertainment, it’s a soft power that subliminally affects consciousness, normalizes aggression, [and] deludes identity.”
She argued that when platforms recommend Russian songs or TV series to Ukrainians, “it is not a choice, but manipulation,” and called for policies ensuring that “Russian products do not sound in the background and form unconscious habits.”
Recommendation algorithms typically maximize user engagement by promoting content popular or trending within a demographic group to users from the same group. Ivanovskaya said that allowing this to favor Russian media undermines Ukraine’s cultural identity.
Since the 2014 Western-backed armed coup in Kiev, Ukrainian authorities have pursued policies aimed at reducing the use of Russian – a language spoken by much of the population – in public life. Laws require Ukrainian in media, education, and commerce, and officials have nudged citizens to use Ukrainian in private settings as well.
Ivanovskaya said her office is encouraging parents to raise their children speaking Ukrainian because “if the mom puts the ‘shackles of the Russian language’ on her kid, removing them later would be difficult.” The state, she said, must be “uncompromising,” not only opposing Russian content, but also “going on the offensive by supporting the Ukrainian product,” so that “every sphere of life is made pro-Ukrainian through a concise, deliberate legislative effort.”
She rejected accusations of censorship, insisting Ukrainians have “made their civilizational choice,” while acknowledging that Russian-language use has recently increased.
Moscow has accused Kiev of attempting to eradicate Russian culture and says ending such discriminative policies is one of its key objectives in the ongoing conflict.
Orban vows to fight ‘warmongering bureaucrats’ in Brussels
RT | September 29, 2025
The European Union is now a “war project” that puts the economies of its members at risk, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said, vowing to oppose Brussels’ belligerent policies.
Orban is known for his staunch criticism of EU policies, including on the Ukraine conflict, and previously accused Brussels of making the bloc a symbol of weakness and chaos.
Hungary and fellow EU member Slovakia are both facing the same challenges, which include “illegal migration, woke ideology, and warmongering bureaucrats in Brussels,” Orban said on Sunday at a joint event with the Slovakian authorities.
“We will continue to defend our sovereignty, our values, and our future!” Orban said in a post on X to mark the occasion. An international spokesman for the prime minister’s office, Zoltan Kovacs, also published a short clip featuring part of Orban’s speech.
“Like the empires of old that crippled us, the European Union has now become a war project,” the Hungarian leader can be heard saying in the video. Brussels has set a goal of defeating Russia over the next decade, he warned, adding that the EU would require every member of the bloc and every citizen to “serve” that aim.
Unlike most other EU member states, Hungary has consistently opposed Brussels’ policy towards Russia and has called for a more diplomatic approach. Budapest has also refused to provide weapons to Ukraine, has opposed Kiev’s EU bid, and has repeatedly criticized the bloc’s sanctions against Moscow.
Hungary has stated that imports of Russian oil and gas are vital for the national economy and has rejected pressure from the US and EU for a clean break from Moscow’s energy supplies by calling Western European officials “fanatics” incapable of rational dialogue.
Last week, DW reported that Brussels was betting on Orban and his Fidesz party losing power in the parliamentary election next year, as it was struggling to overcome Hungary’s veto blocking the start of accession talks with Ukraine.
Last month, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto also claimed that EU officials were conspiring to overthrow the “patriot Slovak, Hungarian, and Serbian governments” and replace them with puppet regimes.
Nuclear-Armed Sweden: Blueprint or Bluff?
By Ekaterina Blinova – Sputnik – 29.09.2025
Fresh from abandoning centuries of neutrality, Swedish politicians are now openly discussing nuclear weapons. What’s really behind this dramatic shift? Mikael Valtersson, former Swedish Armed Forces officer, breaks it down for Sputnik.
Why Nukes are on Sweden’s Agenda
It’s driven by a “fear of a Russian threat” which is “a consequence of Sweden’s and its European allies’ provocative policies against Russia,” Valtersson explains.
“We will see more of the fear-mongering from Europe in the coming years.”
Sweden wasn’t neutral in the Cold War:
- Airfields readied for NATO jets
- Military intelligence was shared between Sweden and NATO
- Even during tensions over the Vietnam War, military cooperation with NATO never stopped
Though sided with NATO, Sweden doubted its nuclear shield. Therefore, in the 1950s–60s Sweden ran its own nuclear weapon program.
“When the politicians stopped the fission weapons program the Swedish Defense forces continued with fusion weapons instead until the politicians banned all nuclear weapons development when they realized this.”
Nuclear Plan is Not Viable
But an independent Swedish nuclear program isn’t viable. Why?
- It would come at enormous economic costs
- Already very large amounts of money are spent on rearmament and supporting Ukraine
- Swedes don’t want to spend even more on nukes
Europe might start a common nuclear weapons program, but Sweden will not do it on its own, according to the pundit.
“Europe’s military-industrial complex is using the ‘Russian threat’ to strengthen its very reduced size after the Cold War.”
THE ATTACK ON GEORGE AND GAYATRI GALLOWAY
PARTY STATEMENT ON CENSORSHIP AND INTIMIDATION
Workers Party of Britain | September 28, 2025
Our party believes in freedom of speech and defends the Rights won by our parents, grandparents and previous generations that allow us to speak our minds and challenge those in power. British people are proud of their freedoms.
In recent years these freedoms have been eroded. It has gone too far.
Our Party Leader George Galloway and Deputy Chair of our Members Council Gayatri Galloway were yesterday detained and denied legal services whilst held at Gatwick airport.
Neither under arrest nor allowed to leave, the Workers Party was prevented from providing legal support as officers seized personal items.
In recent months our One State Palestine (https://t.me/OneStatePalestine) and No 2 NATO (https://t.me/no2nato) campaigns have both been banned from X and suppressed on other platforms. In recent years our meetings have been cancelled, even at so-called free speech venues like Conway Hall.
During election campaigning our members have been physically assaulted, suffered hit and run attacks and abuse. All of this is documented in the press and known to the police.
We are not unique. From the Right and Left individuals and organisations of all types face censorship and intimidation. The only people left alone are the extreme liberals who seek to police everything, even the English language.
No matter what they do, the ruling elite cannot stop the forward march of history. Russia has won in Ukraine, China has won the technology race, Israel is exposed as a genocidal outpost of the old colonial world.
Britain needs to replace those who seek to censor and intimidate us. We need working class leaders who can chart a new peaceful path of development.
If you agree, you should join,
👍 https://www.workerspartygb.org/join
📱 Subscribe here https://t.me/workerspartybritain
EU Fanning ‘Drone Wall’ Hysteria to Justify Military Spending – Russian Foreign Ministry
Sputnik – 27.09.2025
Hysteria surrounding the alleged drone incursion into the European Union and its “drone wall” project is being inflated to justify increased military spending, Vladislav Maslennikov, chief of the Department of European Issues at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Sputnik.
“It is obvious that ‘hysteria’ fanned by the EU members around the incursion of drones into the EU territory and the announcement of defense projects with big names pursue only one goal, which is to justify to the public why they are increasing military spending in Europe at the expense of socio-economic projects and the decreasing standard of living,” he said.
Maslennikov said there was no clarity regarding the length of the proposed “drone wall” and warned that personal ambitions and political games of the ruling elites in the EU would ultimately lead “not to a decrease, but to an increase in military and political tensions in our continent.”
EU Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius earlier said that the European Union’s project to build a “drone wall” along the bloc’s eastern border will also include anti-mobility means on the ground and maritime defenses.
“The drone wall, we see it as part of a bigger project, which now is called the Eastern Flank Watch, which has three components. What they call a ground wall is what some countries are developing as so-called anti-mobility means on the borders. Then the drone wall—how to stop what we have seen in recent times [drone incidents in Poland, Denmark, and Romania]. The last one is what we can call again, very symbolically, a maritime wall,” Kubilius said at a joint press briefing with Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen in Helsinki.
On September 18, Reuters reported that Kubilius was due to discuss with the EU military leadership the building of a “drone wall” along the bloc’s eastern border. On Monday, US media reported that seven EU states, representatives of Ukraine, and the European Commission would discuss on Friday the acceleration of the creation of the so-called “drone wall,” while Slovakia and Hungary had not been invited to the videoconference.
How to run an election, pro-EU edition: ban the party, jail the governor, block the observers
RT | September 27, 2025
Moldova goes to the polls this Sunday in what officials in Chișinău and Brussels have called a “milestone on the European path.” Yet with opposition parties banned, observers blocked, and voters in key regions sidelined, the election looks less like a democratic contest and more like a forced pro-EU outcome.
Watchdogs can’t watch
The Moldovan Central Election Commission (CEC) this week denied accreditation to more than 30 international organizations and 120 observers from over 50 countries. Among those barred were Russian experts nominated to the OSCE’s official mission – a first in European electoral practice.
Moldova’s foreign ministry claimed the decision was taken “in line with national law.” The Patriotic Bloc, an opposition alliance, accused the authorities of deliberately creating an observer blackout. Its lawyers listed applications from reputable NGOs in Italy, Germany, France, Spain and the US that were ignored or rejected.
Moscow has called the move a “blatant breach” of OSCE commitments and summoned Moldova’s ambassador. The EU, usually vocal and critical of democracy standards in the region, has remained conspicuously silent.
Parties erased by decree
Elections are meant to let citizens decide. In Moldova, key players were simply removed from the ballot.
• On September 26, two days before the election, the Heart of Moldova party was suspended for 12 months by court order, accused of money laundering and illicit campaign finance. The CEC struck all Heart of Moldova candidates from the Patriotic Bloc’s list. Its leader, former Gagauzia governor Irina Vlah, called it “a political spectacle.”
• The same day, the CEC barred the Great Moldova party, led by Victoria Furtuna, citing undeclared foreign funding and links to the already banned SOR party. Furtuna had already been sanctioned by the EU in July for receiving support from fugitive oligarch Ilan Șor.
• In June 2023, the SOR Party itself, led by exiled businessman Ilan Shor, was dissolved by the Constitutional Court, accused of corruption and “threatening Moldova’s sovereignty.” Pro-EU Moldovan President Maia Sandu celebrated the ban as a victory against “a party created out of corruption and for corruption.” Opposition leaders called it the end of pluralism.
The bans come on top of sweeping new laws rushed through parliament this summer, allowing the government to strike “successor parties” of banned groups from the ballot and to bar their members from holding office for five years. The Venice Commission and OSCE warned such blanket exclusions could violate basic political rights.
Rivals under investigation, in exile or behind bars
Even where parties survive, their leaders have been sidelined.
• Igor Dodon, Moldovan president from 2016 to 2020, remains under criminal investigation for treason, illicit enrichment and the notorious “kuliok” bribery case. He claims the charges are fabricated, but has been under house arrest for much of the past two years.
• Marina Tauber, vice-chair of the outlawed SOR Party, is being tried in absentia after fleeing to Moscow in early 2025. Prosecutors are seeking a 13-year sentence for fraud and money laundering. Tauber insists the trial is political revenge for her role in anti-Sandu protests.
• Evghenia Gutsul, elected governor of the autonomous Gagauzia in 2023, was sentenced in August to seven years in prison for allegedly funneling Russian funds to the SOR Party. Her supporters protested outside the Chișinău courthouse as she declared the verdict “a sentence not on me, but on Moldovan democracy.” Russia called her jailing politically motivated; the EU has stayed silent.
With opposition leaders jailed, exiled or under investigation, Sandu’s PAS faces little organized challenge at the ballot box.
Transnistrian voters pushed aside
For Moldovan citizens in the breakaway region of Transnistria, the chance to vote has been slashed. In 2021, over 40 polling stations were opened for residents east of the Dniester. This year, just 12 stations were approved – all on government-controlled land, many kilometers from the demarcation line.
Days before the election, the CEC even relocated four of those sites further inland, citing security threats. The Interior Ministry warned of possible bomb scares and provocations in the “security zone.”
Critics call it voter suppression. Russia’s ambassador Oleg Ozerov described the changes as “unprecedented,” noting they were announced less than 48 hours before election day. Transnistrian authorities accused Chișinău of deliberately reducing turnout in a region that leans heavily toward opposition parties.
By contrast, more than 300 polling stations were opened abroad, including 73 in Italy, where the Moldovan diaspora numbers some 100,000, and only 2 in Russia, where the diaspora size is similar – a disparity that hints at the government’s priorities.
Democracy by emergency decree
This is not the first time Sandu’s government has pushed democratic boundaries. Since 2022, PAS has ruled under a rolling state of emergency, citing Ukraine’s conflict with Russia. Using these powers, the government shut down six television channels accused of spreading Russian propaganda, blocked Russian journalists from entering, and passed 13 laws tightening control over parties and candidates.
Reporters Without Borders and the OSCE have flagged concerns about media freedom and selective application of the law.
Brussels applauds, critics protest
Brussels has consistently praised Sandu’s government, calling Moldova “a success story” and advancing its bid for EU membership. Just this week, EU officials accused Moscow of “deeply interfering” in the elections through disinformation and illicit funding.
But inside Moldova, the picture looks different: courts have been turned into campaign tools, whole parties have been erased, governors jailed, observers turned away. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has called for an “inclusive and fair” process for all citizens – diplomatic language for “don’t tilt the table.” The Venice Commission cautioned against blanket bans that undermine the right to be elected.
The bottom line
The vote is supposed to be about Moldova’s future, yet so much of the present has been quietly erased. The rivals that might have challenged PAS are gone, some behind bars, some in exile. The voters in Transnistria who might have shifted the balance face fewer polling stations than ever before. Even the observers whose job is to watch have been turned away. The EU will describe it as progress, a sign of a candidate state finding its democratic feet.
Inside Moldova, many see something else entirely: a coronation disguised as a contest, the latest act in a story where the script was written long before election day.
Moldova bans second pro-Russian party ahead of pivotal election
Al Mayadeen | September 27, 2025
Moldova’s Central Electoral Commission has barred another pro-Russian political force, Greater Moldova, from contesting in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, citing evidence of illicit financing, officials confirmed on Saturday.
The decision, taken late Friday, marks the second time in just days that a pro-Russian party has been excluded, intensifying concerns over foreign influence, the integrity of the electoral process, and Moldova’s long-term EU aspirations.
According to the commission, the ban followed findings by police, security, and intelligence services that Greater Moldova had engaged in illegal financing and received money from foreign sources. Officials alleged that the party distributed funds to sway voters and concealed financial resources.
Party leader Victoria Furtuna denounced the ruling as politically motivated and vowed to challenge it in court, the Moldpress news agency reported.
Authorities suspect that Greater Moldova was effectively continuing the activities of the previously outlawed party of Ilan Shor, the fugitive businessman living in Moscow who has been accused of corruption but denies any wrongdoing.
Wider context
Sunday’s parliamentary vote is widely viewed as a watershed moment for the former Soviet republic, which is also a candidate for EU membership.
Since 2021, the ruling pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), led by President Maia Sandu, has commanded a parliamentary majority.
However, recent opinion polls suggest the PAS could lose ground as opposition parties tap into public frustration over high living costs, rising poverty, and economic stagnation.
Analysts warn that a weakened PAS may be forced into coalition rule, potentially complicating its target of securing EU accession by 2030.
The exclusion of Greater Moldova comes just a week after another pro-Russian faction, Heart of Moldova, part of the Patriotic Bloc, was also banned from participating in the vote.
Moscow, for its part, maintains it does not interfere in Moldova’s internal affairs.
Moldova bans opposition party days before key vote
RT | September 26, 2025
Moldova’s Central Election Commission has banned an opposition party from taking part in this weekend’s parliamentary elections, local media reported Friday.
The government in Chisinau has a history of going after its political opponents under the banner of countering “Russian influence.”
A day earlier, a court backed the government’s request to suspend the Heart of Moldova party, which it accused of electoral manipulation. The targeted party’s president, Irina Vlah, has accused the government of using “lawfare” as part of a broader crackdown on political opponents.
The elimination hurts the ballot prospects of the Patriotic Electoral Bloc, a coalition of several parties that Vlah co-founded in a bid to remove the ruling Action and Solidarity party of President Maia Sandu from power.
The CEC cited the court, adding that under the ruling, all candidates designated by Heart of Moldova will be removed from the race. It gave the Patriotic Bloc 24 hours to adjust its lists accordingly.
Sandu, a staunch pro-EU politician who often claims her opponents are Russian agents backed by organized crime, has described the Sunday elections as a make-or-break moment for Moldova. Moscow has dismissed her claims that it was secretly funding challengers to her party’s parliamentary majority as “ridiculous.”
Last October, Sandu won a new term as president in what critics have described as a flawed election, in which the votes of Moldovans living in the European Union nations secured her victory.
Moscow accused Chisinau of denying thousands of Moldovan citizens living in Russia access to the ballot box by seriously restricting the number of polling stations.
Irina Vlah served as the governor of Gagauzia from 2015 to 2023 and as a member of the Moldovan parliament from 2005 to 2015. Her successor as governor of the ethnic Russian and Turkic region, Evgenia Gutsul, was sentenced to seven years in prison in August on money laundering charges she denies. Like Vlah, Gutsul has also been subjected to EU-backed international sanctions.
Shooting down Russian plane would mean war – ambassador
RT | September 25, 2025
Any NATO member state that shoots down a Russian warplane would trigger a “war” with Russia, Moscow’s envoy to Paris, Aleksey Meshkov, has warned.
Last Friday, Estonia claimed that Russian military aircraft had briefly violated its airspace, due to which Tallinn requested urgent consultations with fellow NATO members. Earlier this month, Poland alleged that multiple Russian decoy drones entered its territory.
Moscow has denied both sets of allegations.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte did not rule out shooting down Russian warplanes should they violate the bloc’s airspace, emphasizing, however, that such decisions are made strictly on a case-by-case basis.
When asked how Russia would react if one of its warplanes was shot down by NATO, Meshkov told France’s RTL radio station on Thursday “that would mean war.”
According to the Russian diplomat, “quite a lot of [NATO military] planes accidentally or not accidentally violate our airspace. And no one shoots them down.”
He also insisted that NATO member states have failed to produce “material” evidence to back up their accusations.
On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov similarly dismissed claims over the supposed incursion by Russian warplanes into Estonian airspace as “hysteria” that is “absolutely baseless and unfounded.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that three MiG-31s were conducting a routine flight from Karelia Region, east of Finland, to an airfield in Kaliningrad Region, a Russian exclave bordering Poland and Lithuania, and that they strictly flew over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea.
Addressing an emergency UN Security Council on Monday, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski vowed that his country would destroy any Russian aircraft or missile that crossed into its airspace.
Last week, Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene similarly urged NATO to be firm in the face of supposed Russian attempts to “test” its resolve.
German industrial giant poised for major job cuts – media
RT | September 25, 2025
Leading German automotive supplier Bosch is set to slash a “five-digit number” of jobs as part of a major cost-cutting exercise, Handelsblatt reported on Thursday, citing anonymous industry sources.
Germany and other EU members have seen their industries lose ground globally after switching from inexpensive Russian oil and gas imports to costlier alternatives following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
Earlier this month, Bosch HR director Stefan Grosch revealed that the company’s mobility division, which produces fuel injectors and driver-assistance software among other items, was staring at an annual shortfall of approximately €2.5 billion ($2.95 billion).
In an email statement to the press, Bosch said it would be “cutting costs across the board – from materials and logistics to capital spending and jobs.”
In its report on Thursday, Handelsblatt noted the German company had already axed 4,500 jobs last year in its largest division at home.
In late July, BMW reported a 29%-year-on-year-drop in first-half profits. The German auto giant attributed the poor showing to the import duties on cars and vehicle parts imposed by US President Donald Trump in April as well as intense “competitive pressure,” particularly from China.
Fellow German automaker Volkswagen saw its after-tax earnings slump by 36% in the second quarter of the year, with Mercedes posting yet worse results.
In June, the German Press Agency (dpa) estimated that Germany’s industrial sector had lost more than 100,000 jobs over the past year.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz last month acknowledged that the country was “not just in a period of economic weakness, we are in a structural crisis of our economy,” caused by a loss of competitiveness.
Commenting on the economic woes witnessed across multiple EU member states, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described it in April as “the true cost of the EU’s anti-Russian agenda.”
Last February, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the German government was “destroying their auto industry.”
