Russia is deploying military personnel on shadow fleet tankers that transport oil
Russian personnel with experience as mercenaries and security service employees have begun to be included in the crews of ships in Russia's shadow fleet, which transports Russian oil.
The Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, together with the Estonian investigative publication Delfi and the international investigative journalism centre OCCRP, identified several people with military backgrounds on ships operating in the Gulf of Finland.
The investigation identified 17 individuals who were on ships in the shadow fleet and did not have maritime qualifications. Twelve of them were found to have links to Wagner, a private military company, or Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate.
According to investigators, these individuals are responsible for supervising the crews and may prevent Western countries from seizing the tankers.
Representatives of several Western military and civilian intelligence organisations confirmed to journalists the presence of such security groups on board the vessels.
The Finnish Security Service Supo reported that Russian security personnel as part of the crews can sometimes be used as a link between the shadow fleet and the Russian armed forces, which have recently increased their presence in the Baltic Sea.
According to journalists, such cases began to be recorded after NATO countries increased their military presence in the Baltic Sea.
