Archives de l’étiquette : Russia

Kombat Tour – Legal risks related to voyages aboard the frigate « Shtandart » within European waters

The Kombat-Tour company, based in Smolensk (Russia), which is promoting “Family cruise” aboard the frigate Shtandart along the Breton coast, has been formally warned of the existing bans affecting this operation. It has also been informed of the risk that its clients may be unable to embark or disembark, and may even be detained by law enforcement authorities.

The case of the sailing ship Shtandart: defending maritime heritage against misinterpretation and harassment

The website shtandart.eu has just published an article entitled “The Case of the Sailing Ship Shtandart: Defending Maritime Heritage Against Misinterpretation and Harassment.” This text devotes many pages to portraying the Russian frigate Shtandart as an innocent cultural project, while turning its attacks personally against Bernard Grua, spokesperson of the collective No Shtandart in Europe.

Acknowledgements for cross-border cooperation on the Iberian Peninsula – Тhe Russian vessel « Shtandart » fails in its port sanctions fraud

Thanks to strong cross-border cooperation between Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and France, the sanctioned Russian vessel Shtandart has been denied all planned port calls across Southern Europe. This coordinated effort has successfully blocked the vessel’s attempts to circumvent port sanctions, demonstrating the effectiveness of joint action in enforcing European and UK regulation.

Alert: Imminent risk of illegal entry into Spanish southern territorial waters and ports by the Russian vessel « Shtandart »

The Russian vessel Shtandart, despite the explicit prohibition by the Court of Justice of the European Union, continues attempting to enter EU ports. Following recent incidents in Galicia and Portugal, the international collective No Shtandart in Europe alerts the Spanish authorities of the imminent risk of incursions into the country’s southern waters.

 Alert: Violation of Spanish Territorial Waters by the « Shtandart », a Sanctioned Russian Vessel

The presence of the Shtandart in Spanish waters is not a simple maritime incident but a clear breach of European sanctions and Spain’s national sovereignty. This ship, a symbol of Russian propaganda and previously expelled from Spain in 2024, returned to Galicia in September 2025, openly defying the country’s decisions. Its presence undermines the credibility of the European Union’s restrictive measures and requires a firm and immediate response from the Spanish authorities.

Is the sanctioned « Shtandart » a Russian spy ship?

By disconnecting its Automatic identification system (AIS) between Norway and France and making a secret stopover in the port of Hvide Sande, the sanctioned Russian ship Shtandart has sparked a wave of outrage and suspicion in Denmark. However, can we claim that it is a Russian spy ship, as suggested by tvSyd, a Danish media ?

The “Shtandart” explicitly banned – the Court of Justice of the European Union puts an end to its deceptive narrative

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)has confirmed that the Russian ship Shtandart has been subject to port sanctions since 16 April 2022. With Vladimir Martus having made public the confidential correspondence received on this subject, a number of organisations and institutions that chose to ignore the texts and disregard the well-founded warnings communicated to them could find themselves in an awkward position.

“Shtandart”: the judicial harassment strategy orchestrated by Thierry Clerc and the Russian Vladimir Martus

Since 2023, Thierry Clerc and Vladimir Martus have launched, against, Bernard Grua, the spokesperson of the collective No Shtandart in Europe, a series of legal measures: formal notices, police report, criminal complaint, interventions with French authorities, and public communication campaigns. All these initiatives, none of which succeeded in court, fit into a pattern that the European Union recognizes as SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation): actions intended to intimidate and deter critical expression, without any real prospect of success in the courts.

A rhetorical analysis of the president of the ‘Les Amis des Grands Voiliers — Sail Training Association France’ in relation to the sanctioned Russian ship, ‘Shtandart’.

Dated 3 January 2025, a letter from Michel Balique, president of Les Amis des Grands Voiliers — Sail Training Association France, provides a remarkable summary of the rhetoric used against activists opposing the Russian ship Shtandart’s failure to comply with sanctions over the past three years.