MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened Wednesday to seize European merchant ships in retaliation if European governments continue impounding vessels from Russia's sanctions-evading "shadow fleet," escalating a standoff over oil exports that has simmered for months.

Speaking to sailors aboard the guided-missile cruiser Varyag off Sakhalin Island in Russia's Far East, Putin said Moscow would respond "wherever we deem it necessary and appropriate" if European nations kept intercepting tankers suspected of hauling Russian crude in breach of Western sanctions, according to Al Jazeera. He described the European seizures as "piracy and robbery."

It was Putin's first visit to Russia's Sakhalin region in 13 years, and he used the trip to raise the alarm about a second front of tension — the Asia-Pacific.

Warnings on two fronts

"NATO is making inroads into the region, new military-political blocs are being formed, and new weapons systems that pose a threat to Russia are being deployed or are slated for deployment," Putin told the sailors, adding that "the potential for conflict is growing" as the alliance expands its footprint near Russia's Pacific coastline, according to the Irish Times.

"WE WILL RESPOND IN KIND."

Several European countries have stepped up efforts this year to intercept tankers in the Baltic and North Seas believed to belong to Russia's shadow fleet — hundreds of aging, opaquely owned ships that Moscow uses to keep oil revenue flowing despite a Western price cap and sanctions regime imposed after its invasion of Ukraine. European officials argue the vessels pose environmental and security risks, including suspected sabotage of undersea cables.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any sabotage involvement and cast the seizures as illegal harassment of commercial shipping. Wednesday's threat marks one of Putin's most direct warnings yet that Russia could retaliate in kind against European-flagged or European-owned vessels, raising the stakes for shipping insurers and Baltic port operators already on edge.

The warning lands as Russia's invasion of Ukraine grinds into its fifth year, with Western nations debating additional sanctions and Ukraine's allies continuing to press for tighter enforcement of the existing oil price cap. Analysts said Putin's Pacific remarks were also aimed at signaling resolve to Washington and Beijing alike as the U.S. deepens defense ties with Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.