Russia: Shipping
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the official footage released by the MOD of the operation to board the Russian Shadow Fleet vessel SMYRTOS on 14 June 2026, were any of the shots within the footage staged for promotional purposes.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones
Suggestions that the UK’s interdiction of the Russian shadow fleet vessel Smyrtos was staged for publicity purposes are false. While we don’t routinely comment on specific operational details, the footage released was of secondary clearance of all spaces of the ship after the initial securing of the ship had been achieved.
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