Russia Threatens NUCLEAR WAR After US, UK Seize Russian Oil Tanker

A confrontation at sea now risks escalating far beyond oil tankers and sanctions enforcement, as Moscow signals that force, even nuclear force, remains on the table.

A senior Russian lawmaker issued a stark warning to the United States after American forces, with British support, seized two oil tankers linked to what U.S. officials describe as a sanctions-evading “ghost fleet.”

Aleksey Zhuravlyov, first deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma defense committee, described the seizure of the tanker Marinera, previously known as Bella 1, as an act equivalent to an attack on Russia itself.

The vessel had been flying the Russian flag at the time of the interdiction.

"We need to provide a military response: attack with torpedoes or sink a couple of American boats. This is nothing more than piracy: the seizure of a civilian vessel by the armed US Navy," Zhuravlyov said. "It is essentially the same as an attack on Russian territory, since the tanker was flying our national flag."

Zhuravlyov explicitly raised the possibility of nuclear escalation, citing Russia’s military doctrine.

"There is no doubt that we must respond firmly and swiftly—our military doctrine even envisages the use of nuclear weapons in response to such an attack," he said. "Especially since, according to available information, a Russian submarine and some other Russian military ships were located somewhere near the vessel."

Russia’s Transport Ministry earlier condemned the U.S. operation, which was carried out with British assistance.

"No state has the right to use force against vessels properly registered in other countries' jurisdictions," the ministry said in a statement.

The seizure of the Marinera followed weeks of surveillance and pursuit.

U.S. authorities attempted to board the vessel last month in the Caribbean after obtaining a warrant citing alleged violations of U.S. sanctions and claims that the ship had transported Iranian oil.

The initial operation failed after the vessel abruptly changed course, renamed itself, and reflagged from Guyana to Russia.

U.S. officials tracked the tanker as it moved toward Europe, deploying roughly 10 U.S. transport aircraft and helicopters during the operation preceding the boarding.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence confirmed direct support for the interdiction.

"The UK has provided enabling support to the United States at their request to interdict the vessel Bella 1 today,” the ministry said. “UK Armed Forces provided pre-planned operational support, including basing, to U.S. military assets interdicting the Bella 1 in the UK-Iceland-Greenland gap following a U.S. request for assistance.”

“RFA Tideforce provided support for U.S. forces pursuing and interdicting the Bella 1, while the RAF provided surveillance support from the air,” the statement added. “The UK and U.S. defence and security relationship is the deepest in the world and the UK provided enabling support in full compliance with international law.”

Escalation remains a central concern. NATO’s Article 5 treats an attack on one member as an attack on all, raising the stakes if Russian threats were carried out.

Lines are being drawn across the oceans, war doctrines are being quoted out loud, and the machinery of escalation is no longer whispering behind closed doors but speaking plainly into microphones.