The « Shtandart » and European sanctions: third formal warning to « Kombat-Tour »

Against the backdrop of new revelations about Shtandart‘s covert activities, a third formal warning was issued to Kombat-Tour. Below is a document setting out the facts that both French and Russian readers should be aware of.

To the attention of:
Management of the company Kombat-Tour
4B Kommunisticheskaya Street
Smolensk
Russia
+7 906 668-45-55
info@kombat-tour.ru
org@kombat-tour.ru

Copies:
Premar-Ceclant – Maritime Prefect, Commander-in-Chief for the Atlantic
Prefect of Finistère
Prefect of Côtes-d’Armor
Prefect of Ille-et-Vilaine

Subject: The Shtandart and European sanctions: third formal warning to Kombat-Tour

December 2, 2025

Dear Sir or Madam,

Following my warnings dated November 6 and November 26, 2025 — the latter accompanied by an article written by one of the leading French specialists on the Russian frigate Shtandart (Le Télégramme, 25/11/2025) — I wish to bring to your attention new public information concerning your planned cruise along the coast of Brittany in June 2026.

First, there is an article published in Le Parisien, edition of 30/11/2025:

• Original – L’étrange croisière pirate en Bretagne du Shtandart, la frégate « russe » bannie en Europe
• Russian translation – Странное пиратское круизное путешествие по Бретани на “Штандарте”, “русском” фрегате, запрещенном в Европе
• English translation – The Strange Pirate Cruise in Brittany of the “Shtandart”, the “Russian” Frigate Banned in Europe

Next, a report broadcast on the national television channel TF1 on 02/12/2025: Point K: The Russian ship that has the Bretons worried (Fr)

1. An offer incompatible with a “family cruise”

Informed observers concur: it is highly unlikely that ordinary Russian citizens, even wealthy ones, would commit themselves — with their wives and children — to an operation involving so many risks and unknowns.

The hypothesis of a simple touristic product is therefore implausible. It is something else — a likely maskirovka, to use the term employed by several analysts who are well aware of Vladimir Martus’s ties with the Russian regime and its propaganda organs.

In this regard, the competent authorities, and their intelligence services, will rely in particular on the information revealed in Portugal by Alexandr Orlov, a crew member of the Shtandart, to determine the true nature of the operation.

Below are the three versions of his testimony:

• Original (VK) — Драматическая история про пиратские шахматы или старпом Тим против НАТО
• English translation — Dramatic story about pirate chess, or First Mate Tim versus NATO
• French translation — L’histoire dramatique d’un jeu d’échecs de pirates, ou le second officier Tim contre l’OTAN

2. Alexandr Orlov’s testimony: a decisive element

Alexandr Orlov’s account is to this day the most precise source regarding the ship’s actual practices. It:

• confirms the fraudulent and concealed nature of the operations conducted on board;
• corroborates the decisions already taken against the ship by Spain, France, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, and Portugal;
• highlights repeated violations of maritime law, immigration law, and European sanctions;
• attests to the clear breach of the order issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union (22 August 2025), which confirms the strict application of sanctions to the Shtandart;
• demonstrates that the crew deliberately operates outside any legal framework;
• constitutes direct evidence that may be used in administrative, media, or judicial proceedings.

It is very far from the victimhood narrative that its captain — and covert owner — promotes to European authorities and media. Beneath an almost folkloric veneer, this is not an anecdotal story. It is the first complete internal description of the structurally illegal functioning of the Shtandart.

As a result

• the krysha allegedly provided in Charente-Maritime,
• the misleading assurances given by the Shtandart’s lawyer (in constant legal failure and in an obvious conflict-of-interest situation),
• as well as the narrative constructed by Vladimir Martus,

are now outweighed by the facts.

It would be extremely unwise to rely on them.

3. Consequences for your project

Given:

• the serious legal risks associated with European sanctions,
• the security implications linked to the vessel,
• the ongoing consolidation of administrative decisions across the European Union,
• and the highly sensitive nature of the Shtandart,

I hereby expressly urge you once again to immediately abandon your planned operation in France and to inform the competent authorities accordingly.

Remaining at your disposal for any further information,
I remain, Dear Madam, Dear Sir,
Yours sincerely,

Bernard Grua