According to CoinMeta, Russian President Putin threatened that if the European Union takes action to seize Russian commercial vessels, Russia will retaliate, calling such behavior "piracy." As part of a new round of sanctions announced last month, the EU approved a mechanism that allows member states to sell oil and other goods seized from sanctioned vessels that have been detained at sea. Since the end of 2024, European countries and the UK have boarded, detained, or confiscated several vessels associated with Russia or what is known as the "shadow fleet." During exercises with the Pacific Fleet in Russia's Far East region on Wednesday, Putin stated, "Recently, they have even come up with the idea of seizing our vessels and selling the property plundered from us. Of course, this is nothing more than piracy and robbery." Putin said that Russia will respond in kind, and the location of the response may not necessarily be in the same waters where Russian vessels could be attacked, but rather "anywhere we deem necessary and appropriate."