Vladimir Putin’s superyacht was spotted sailing to Russia after ‘fleeing’ a shipyard in Germany, sparking speculation it was trying to avoid being seized by harsh sanctions that would be imposed if Moscow invaded Ukraine .
The Russian president’s yacht left the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg on Monday and arrived in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad at noon on Wednesday, according to ship tracking site Marine Traffic.
The £73.2million yacht, called ‘Graceful’, was seen cruising the Kiel Canal hours after leaving the port of Hamburg before heading for the Baltic Sea.
German media have suggested Putin’s 270ft vessel was ‘fleeing’ Germany amid the Ukraine crisis, with the Bild newspaper saying the move ‘was obviously an escape for fear of arrest’.
They referenced British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who threatened to introduce harsh sanctions and told Putin and his allies they would have ‘nowhere to hide’ if Russia invaded Kyiv .
The £73.2million yacht, called ‘Graceful’, was seen cruising the Kiel Canal hours after leaving the port of Hamburg before heading for the Baltic Sea.
Vladimir Putin’s superyacht was spotted sailing to Russia after ‘fleeing’ a shipyard in Germany, sparking speculation it was trying to avoid being seized by harsh sanctions that would be imposed if Moscow invaded Ukraine
The Russian president’s yacht left the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg on Monday and arrived in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad by midday on Wednesday, according to ship tracking site Marine Traffic.
Putin’s ship had been at the Blohm+Voss shipyard since 2021 to be cleaned and refurbished, with the installation of two new large balconies, German newspaper Kieler Nachrichten reported.
The newspaper published a photograph showing Graceful moored alongside the German Navy’s Corvette Emden at the shipyard before it departed.
The superyacht has an indoor swimming pool that can be converted into a dance floor as well as a helipad, superyacht magazine Boote Exclusiv reported.
The decision to move Graceful to Russia comes as tensions continue to escalate between the West and Moscow over Ukraine.
Washington and its NATO allies said they would not send troops to protect Ukraine from a Russian attack, but would send weapons to help Ukrainians defend themselves and respond with sanctions financial against Moscow.
super yacht Graceful during a test drive along the Kiel Canal in 2014″ class=”blkBorder img-share” style=”max-width:100%” />
The 82 meter super yacht Graceful during a test drive along the Kiel Canal in 2014
Ukrainian servicemen march on the front line in the industrial zone of the government town of Avdiyivka in the Donetsk region today
Preparing for war: A masked Ukrainian soldier patrols the frontline at Avdiyivka in Donetsk today
But financial insiders fear Putin will strike first and target European and US banks with a coordinated cyberattack to sow economic chaos around the world.
The European Central Bank has already told banks to wage cyber wars to test their ability to fend off a potential attack, with financial regulators on high alert for another strike.
The ECB, led by former French minister Christine Lagarde and which oversees Europe’s biggest lenders, has shifted its focus from regular scams to cyberattacks launched from Russia, an insider has revealed.
They added that security chiefs have asked European and US banks to strengthen their defenses against a potential hack.
The New York Department of Financial Services also issued an alert to financial institutions in late January warning them of cyberattacks, according to Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence.
Ukrainian servicemen today guard a frontline area in the industrial zone of the government town of Avdiyivka in the Donetsk region
Earlier this year, several Ukrainian websites were hit by a cyberattack that left a warning to “be afraid and expect the worst” as Russia gathered more than 100,000 troops near its borders.
Ukraine’s state security service SBU said it saw signs the attack was linked to hacker groups associated with Russian intelligence.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied that the Russian state has anything to do with hacking around the world and has said it is ready to cooperate with the United States and others to crack down on cybercrime.
Nevertheless, European regulators are on high alert.
It comes like Germany Gas stocks have fallen to a “worrying” level, an economy ministry spokeswoman said on Wednesday, with fears of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine putting further pressure on energy supplies .
“Of course we are monitoring the situation with stockpiling levels and that is certainly worrying,” the spokeswoman told a regular government press conference, noting that stocks were now at 35-36%. A year ago, storage tiers were at 82% capacity.
The heightened fears come as Russia holds drills to land troops and armored vehicles in battle formation on annexed Crimea near mainland Ukraine.
The exercises involve the large amphibious assault ships Orsk and Novocherkassk.
Six more landing ships arrive in the Black Sea apparently for drills amid fears of a Russian invasion.
“The exercise consisted of boarding the equipment and launching an amphibious assault on an unequipped coast,” said a Black Sea source.
The crews of the BTR-82A and BTR-82A armored personnel carriers entered “combat formation” after landing in an operation involving hundreds of soldiers in Kazachya Bay in Sevastopol.
Continued war games will do little to ease fears of an imminent invasion, although Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he believed steps could be taken to defuse the crisis after meeting Putin in the Kremlin .
Putin held lengthy negotiations with Macron (pictured, February 7) over the Ukraine crisis, which were described as ‘constructive’
The Russian frigate “Minsk” crosses the Dardanelles Strait in Canakkale, Turkey on Tuesday
And to make matters worse, the Kremlin ridiculed Macron’s claims that he struck a deal with Putin to de-escalate tensions.
The French president positioned himself as a potential peacemaker and proudly bragged about making “private promises” to the Russian leader, which had not been sanctioned by NATO, after their meeting in Moscow on Monday.
Macron said Putin assured him he “would not trigger an escalation”, before flying to Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky on the next leg of his diplomatic tour.
But Russia has now slapped Macron, saying he does not have enough clout or authority to unilaterally broker deals.
Britain is also said to be concerned about the Frenchman’s intervention, with government sources telling the Mail he ‘didn’t consult anyone’ about his bid for peace.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that Putin made any promises, saying: “It’s wrong in its essence.” Moscow and Paris could not conclude any agreement. It’s just not possible.
“France is a leading country in the EU, France is a member of NATO, but Paris is not a leader there. In this block, a very different country is in charge. So what cases can we talk about?
