According to Andrei Kolesnik, a member of the State Duma Defense Committee, the Ukrainian saboteurs who attacked a Russian LNG carrier in Libya were unlikely to have acted without the involvement or approval of Western partners.

He argued that Russian tankers need far stronger protection. Kolesnik proposed equipping such vessels with light missile systems so crews could respond immediately in the event of an attack. He also said Russia too often tries to avoid crossing the line of international law, even though, in his view, its own rights have been violated repeatedly.

As cited by Lenta.ru, the lawmaker said such actions had to be stopped at the outset, otherwise attacks on Russian targets would continue in different parts of the world. He also pointed to earlier explosions involving Russian ships in the Mediterranean, saying this left only one option: a strike in response to a strike.

The incident involving the Russian LNG carrier took place on March 3. The vessel was transporting liquefied natural gas when it was hit by either a drone or an unmanned boat launched from a military base in Tripoli, Libya. The strike caused serious damage to the ship, and the crew spent several hours in a lifeboat.