Russia sends Arctic warships to the Baltic — its Baltic Fleet too weak to guard shadow tankers

Russian frigate Admiral Kasatonov and destroyer Admiral Levchenko have passed through the Danish straits into the Baltic Sea. The vessels are believed to be providing cover for Russia's so-called shadow fleet — tankers moving Russian oil in circumvention of Western sanctions. While the West frames the move as a show of force, the need to deploy ships from the Arctic suggests Russia's Baltic Fleet lacks the capacity to protect the tankers on its own.

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