Lesson №1 for Putin: Never Mess with Finland
Ever
Finland. Finland. Finland.
You beauty.
That was some of the boldest action I’ve seen in recent times. I’ll place Finland’s resolve over the past 100 hours right alongside Britain and Poland tearing up diplomatic playbooks in January 2023 to push the Western alliance into delivering tanks to Ukraine.
Yes, nearly two years ago. After a long lull, we now have a European nation daring Putin and emerging decisively on top.
Stunning details have emerged following the seizure of the Eagle S by Finnish authorities. The tanker, which departed Russia’s port of Ust-Luga loaded with oil, was en route to Port Said, Egypt. While passing through the Gulf of Finland, it dropped its anchor and dragged it along the seabed, severing multiple undersea cables, including a power cable linking Finland and Estonia.
The Eagle S then made a suspicious U-turn, retracing its path as it continued damaging cables, before veering back to its original route. The maneuvering suggests they were seeking confirmation — possibly from someone outside the ship — that their sabotage was successful. The vessel was also carrying sophisticated spying equipment.
Finland’s Coast Guard intercepted the tanker just before it could target another critical submarine power line, Estlink 1, while Estonia deployed naval forces to protect the infrastructure. There’s little doubt that Russian commanders in Kaliningrad were aware of the ship’s mission — and of the possibility it might be caught.
If the Russians had patrol vessels in the area and still failed to intervene to protect a cargo ship loaded with their spy equipment, they are absolute fools. If they didn’t have any patrol vessels or warships nearby, they are grossly incompetent. Either way, they’ve been caught red-handed, and their options to escape this predicament are almost nonexistent.
Finland, on the other hand, knew the risks involved in seizing the ship and bringing it to a Finnish port. Russian warships could have been deployed to block the seizure, potentially igniting a major confrontation. Despite this, Finland pressed ahead, boarding the ship and taking control. It was likely all over before the regional Russian commander could even issue orders to respond.
The Russians had every reason to stop this ship from being seized — it was packed with spy equipment.
According to Lloyd’s List, a global maritime and shipping industry publication, the Eagle S “had transmitting and receiving devices installed that effectively allowed it to become a spy ship for Russia.”
Lloyd’s List reported that an unauthorized individual, not a seafarer, was found aboard the 20-year-old tanker Eagle S. The individual brought listening and recording equipment onboard in large portable suitcases, along with laptops equipped with Turkish and Russian keyboards, during port calls in Türkiye and Russia. The equipment, placed on the bridge and the “monkey island” (the ship’s highest point), was used to record NATO naval and aircraft radio frequencies.
The recordings were later offloaded in Russia for analysis. Sources claimed that Russian, Turkish, and Indian radio officers operated the equipment. Additionally, Eagle S allegedly dropped sensor-like devices in the English Channel during transit.
Now, all that spying equipment is in Finland’s possession. Russia, heavily reliant on its shadow tanker fleet — of which the Eagle S was a part — to move oil and bypass the €60-per-barrel price cap imposed by the West, has been exposed. The Russians should have done everything possible to keep this espionage operation under wraps.
Instead, the world now knows these oil tankers aren’t just transporting crude — they’re doubling as spy ships for Russia. This revelation leaves NATO and Europe with no choice but to ramp up interceptions of these vessels to check for spying activities. Patrols in the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Finland, and the Danish Straits will undoubtedly increase, and every movement by the shadow fleet will be scrutinized.
Putin now faces a monumental struggle to circumvent sanctions. Every intercepted tanker will be questioned for its insurance documents. Without proper insurance, the vessel can be seized. If insured, the oil must be sold at or below €60 per barrel — further choking Russia’s revenues.
This string of events has left Putin in dire straits. To regain any momentum in the Western world for negotiations, he’ll need a significant shift in fortunes. But everything over the past week has further eroded his standing.
Russian troops already faced global condemnation for blowing up a passenger plane. Reports suggest Russia denied the plane emergency landing rights at their airports, forcing the pilots to fly over the Caspian Sea toward Kazakhstan. In a heroic act, the pilots lost their lives but still managed to save 29 passengers.
The world now knows that cargo ships leaving Russian ports are doubling as spy ships and even tripling as infrastructure sabotage vessels. What kind of momentum does that give Putin in negotiations? None — it only amplifies his negative profile. Finland and Estonia now have even more reasons, backed by solid evidence, to derail any peace talks that might swing in Putin’s favor.
For Putin, a bad month has only grown worse. NATO’s newest member has shown that courage still carries weight. When a reporter asked Finland’s Police Chief if he planned to contact Russia about the incident, his response was curt: “No. We will not.”
Putin should have never messed with Finland. Ever.
They gave Stalin a bloody nose. Now they’ve done the same to Putin. And with this, the path to dismantling Russia’s shadow fleet has opened up at the perfect time.
Thanks for reading. The war is getting closer to the end. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to make critical information about Ukraine accessible. That’s why I’ve made 340 stories available to the public in 2024, including this one.
