Between April 16 and 23, 2025, russia conducted large-scale drills with its Baltic Fleet, involving 11 warships of various classes in a three-stage exercise, as reported by Naval News. The maneuvers took place shortly after European countries began detaining tankers from russia's so-called "shadow fleet" operating in the Baltic Sea — oil tankers used to smuggle oil in violation of sanctions against Moscow.
While the drills cannot be considered a direct military response, the timing and nature of the maneuvers appear to be a symbolic message from the Kremlin.
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Specifically, on March 21 Germany detained the Eventin tanker, sailing under the Panamanian flag. The vessel was carrying 100,000 tons of oil, which the German government confiscated. Then, on April 11, the Estonian Navy stopped the russian tanker Kiwala, which was en route to the port of Ust-Luga. After an inspection, the Estonian forces released the ship, allowing it to continue its journey.
Although these incidents do not yet amount to a consistent crackdown on russia's sanctions evasion, Moscow's decision to respond with naval drills suggests it viewed the events as provocations.
The first stage of the drills took place on April 15–16 and involved russian Navy ships conducting live fire at surface targets using anti-ship missiles and naval artillery. The ships also practiced laying sea mines.
On April 16, a separate scenario was carried out — a simulated defense of a civilian vessel from seizure by a "foreign warship". In this exercise, the anti-submarine corvette Kazanyets (Project 1331M) played the aggressor, while the missile boat Morshansk "defended" the vessel with support from Bastion coastal missile systems.
The second phase, on April 17–18, involved practicing defense of civilian shipping from kamikaze boats and drones. The final phase, on April 22–23, focused on anti-submarine warfare using a Varshavyanka-class diesel-electric submarine as the mock target.
Overall, the fleet assembled for these drills included three Project 20380 corvettes (Boykiy, Steregushchiy, Soobrazitelny), one Buyan-M-class missile corvette (Project 21631), four anti-submarine corvettes, four minesweepers, one missile boat, and one submarine.
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