Acts of sabotage are part of a wider campaign to eliminate Russian sea shipping, according to Nikolay Patrushev

Western countries are targeting Russian vessels with more and more acts of sabotage and terrorism as part of a wider push to impose a maritime blockade on the country, President Vladimir Putin's national security adviser Nikolay Patrushev has said.

The presidential aide, who chairs Russia's Maritime Board, made the statement during the body's meeting on Sunday.

"There is a consistent increase in NATO's military activity in the Baltic and North Seas, in the North Atlantic and the Asia-Pacific region," Patrushev said.

"Western countries have expanded the practice of taking deliberate steps towards establishing a naval blockade," including "attempts to inspect ships in international waters and to commit sabotage and terrorist acts," he said.

Patrushev has previously warned that any attempts by the EU and UK to expel Russian vessels from the seas will be met with a "proportionate" retaliation. If law and diplomacy fail, "the security of Russian shipping will be ensured by our navy. The hotheads in London or Brussels need to clearly understand this," he told the press last week.

Western countries tightened maritime restrictions on Russia following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, sanctioning a number of vessels and limiting their access to naval insurance, financial institutions, and port infrastructure.

Over the past year and a half, after a spate of incidents involving damaged undersea power and communications lines, Western officials have accused Moscow of "sabotage" and waging "hybrid warfare." Despite claims of the alleged involvement of Russian ships passing over the infrastructure, no conclusive evidence has been brought forward.

NATO states have progressively ramped up their military presence in the Baltic Sea in the wake of the allegations.

READ MORE: Baltic NATO member could back attacks on civilian shipping media

According to Patrushev, the US-led military bloc has been practicing imposing a naval blockade in the Baltic and Black seas during its military drills, as well as seizing the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, following preemptive strikes on Moscow's nuclear deterrent forces.

(RT.com)