Analysis
LNG Tanker Armed With Machine Guns in Baltic Amid NATO Tensions
Russia has equipped Gazprom's Marshal Vasilevskiy LNG carrier with heavy machine guns mounted on bridge wings while operating in the Gulf of Finland in May, according to photographs from Estonian border authorities. The 12.7 mm Kord weapons, capable of engaging small craft and drones at up to two kilometers, mark an unprecedented militarization of a civilian Russian energy vessel amid deteriorating Russia-NATO relations and growing attacks on Russian energy shipping.
