{"id":47086,"date":"2026-01-09T14:37:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T19:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/?p=47086"},"modified":"2026-01-09T14:37:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T19:37:28","slug":"kremlin-utterly-humiliates-russia-with-continued-campaign-of-ingratiating-itself-with-trump-by-thanking-us-for-releasing-kidnapped-tanker-crew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/?p=47086","title":{"rendered":"<h3><b>Kremlin utterly humiliates Russia with continued campaign of ingratiating itself with Trump by thanking US for releasing kidnapped tanker crew.<\/b><h3>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--more--><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-47087\" src=\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-09-at-2.08.02-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"553\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-09-at-2.08.02-PM.png 553w, https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-09-at-2.08.02-PM-300x232.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 553px) 100vw, 553px\" \/><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"article__cover article__cover-left\">\n<div class=\"media \"><picture><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"media__item lazyautosizes lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/mf.b37mrtl.ru\/files\/2026.01\/xxs\/6960db2e203027382964281c.jpg\" sizes=\"601px\" alt=\"US releases Russian crew members of seized tanker \u2013 Moscow\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mf.b37mrtl.ru\/files\/2026.01\/xxs\/6960db2e203027382964281c.jpg\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"media__footer media__footer_bottom \">\n<h5 class=\"media__title media__title_arcticle\"><span data-role=\"title\">A US coastguard ship escorting the Marinera oil tanker.<br \/>\n<\/span><span data-role=\"copyright-symbol\">\u00a9\u00a0<\/span><span data-role=\"copyright\">\u00a0US Coast Guard<\/span><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article__text text \">\n<p>The US has set free the two Russian crew members of the Russian-flagged oil tanker \u2018Marinera\u2019 captured by American forces, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow has said.<\/p>\n<p>US President Donald Trump made the move in response to a request by the Kremlin, the ministry said.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWe welcome this decision and express our gratitude to the US leadership,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0the statement read.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, the US European Command announced the capture of the Marinera in international waters to the northwest of Scotland. American warships had pursued it all the way from the Caribbean Sea.<\/p>\n<p>The tanker, previously named Bella 1, was intercepted for alleged\u00a0<em>\u201cviolation of US sanctions\u201d<\/em>\u00a0regarding the export of Venezuelan oil.<\/p>\n<p>The vessel had a crew of 28 people, including two Russians, 17 Ukrainians, three Georgians and three citizens of India.<\/p>\n<p>The US first set its sights on the tanker late last year after it reportedly tried to approach Venezuela. At the time, the captain refused a demand to board by the US Coast Guard, and changed course towards the Atlantic.<\/p>\n<p>During the pursuit, the crew renamed the vessel and applied for a temporary permit to fly Russia\u2019s flag, which was granted by the Russian port of Sochi.<\/p>\n<p>The Russian Foreign Ministry said previously that the seizure of the Marinera by the US\u00a0<em>\u201ccannot be interpreted as anything but the most blatant violation of the fundamental principles and norms of international maritime law.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0It would lead to further escalation of tensions in the Euro-Atlantic region and lower the\u00a0<em>\u201cthreshold for the use of force against civilian vessels,\u201d<\/em> it stressed.<\/p>\n<p>The capture of the vessel came just days after American forces conducted a military raid in Venezuela and abducted its president, Nicolas Maduro, whom the US has charged with drug trafficking.<\/p>\n<p>____<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/630753-us-tanker-crew-moscow\/\">https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/630753-us-tanker-crew-moscow\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47086\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}