VLADIMIR Putin’s menacing submarines fled in fear when US forces captured a shadow fleet tanker off Britain’s coast, Donald Trump has revealed.
The Russian crew on board the Venezuela-linked Marinera have now been released following its dramatic capture by US-UK joint forces in the Atlantic.
The US Coast Guard Munro cutter escorted the rusting tanker after it was commandeered by Trump’s team following a two-week maritime chase.
Despite claims that the boat was under the Kremlin’s protection, Trump has now revealed that mad Vlad’s ships scattered like rats when US forces showed up.
Shedding light on the sophisticated operation, the US president said: “The Russian ships – it was a submarine and a destroyer – they both left very quickly when we arrived.”
He added: “And we took over the ship and the oil is being unloaded right now.”
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Washington sources claimed a Russian submarine and warship had been nearby during the raid – but they seemingly escaped when faced down by Trump’s forces.
The ship, formerly known as Bella 1, is accused by the US of hauling sanction-busting Venezuelan oil as part of Russia’s shadow tanker fleet.
But new revelations link the vessel to high-ranking Putin cronies, which may explain Russia’s fury over the seizure.
Ukrainian sources alleged the tanker grab was the real reason Putin unleashed his nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system in Ukraine over Thursday night.
The terrifying strike hit a huge gas facility in Lviv – just 40 miles from the Nato and EU frontier in Poland.
Investigators say the Marinera is linked to Viktor Baransky, a pro-Kremlin ex-Ukrainian politician, and Ilan Shor, a fugitive oligarch who has been dubbed Putin’s fixer.
Russia revealed that Trump had decided to release the crew on board the ship following its capture.
The Kremlin said: “In response to our appeal, US President D. Trump decided to release two Russian citizens from the crew of the tanker ‘Mariner’, which was previously detained by the American side during an operation in the North Atlantic.”
Daring footage of US forces stalking the shadow fleet tanker sailing under the Russian flag after it was seized has also been released.
Russia and the US are now embroiled in a bitter war of words following Washington’s successful raid.
Putin warmonger Aleksey Zhuravlyov, the first deputy head of the Russian State Duma’s defence committee, fumed at the seizure and claimed the US were buoyed by their successful capture of Venezuelan tyrant Nicolas Maduro.
The operation to board the sanctioned rustbucket was conducted by the Coast Guard and the Department of War on Wednesday morning.
For weeks, the ageing tanker had been at the heart of an ocean-wide chase due to its links with Venezuela and Russia.
Originally named Bella 1, the ship had set sail from Iran and tried unsuccessfully to break Trump’s blockade of Venezuela last month.
The US Coast Guard tried to board the Bella 1 in the Caribbean but failed to get on deck.
Washington believed it may have been shipping illegal Iranian oil at the time.
Once aware that the US was closely monitoring it, the crew onboard dramatically changed course, name and even flag.
It started to flee the Caribbean and head towards the Russian port of Murmansk, according to ship tracking sites.
On December 31, the Bella 1’s crew changed the ship’s name to the Marinera and painted a Russian flag on the hull to claim tyrant Putin’s protection.
Russia‘s transport ministry said it had given the vessel “temporary permission” to use their flag and warned Washington had no right to seize it.
Dmitry Medvedev, ex-Kremlin president and deputy head of the Kremlin’s security council, appeared to issue a chilling warning to Trump after the raid.
He posted an image celebrating the Orthodox Christmas Day with the caption: “Don’t play games with Russia.”
A defiant Hegseth has since said the US will not stop seizing illegal ships in the Atlantic until the waters are safe.
He added: “When the President speaks, he means it. He’s not messing around. We are an administration of action to advance our interests. And that is on full display.”
This attitude was reflected after the US announced they had carried out a second maritime raid on a ship at the same time as the Marinera.
Footage showed US forces swooping on a second shadow fleet tanker and commandeering the vessel near the Caribbean.
The sanctioned M/T Sophia was “conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea”, according to the US Southern Command.
The capturing of the Marinera was carried out by both US and UK forces, the Ministry of Defence confirmed.
Defence Secretary John Healey hailed the “skill and professionalism” of the UK armed forces.
Since the president imposed the “total and complete” blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers on December 16, more than a dozen vessels have fled the country.
Officials describe it as a coordinated break-out attempt.
Sixteen tankers – most of them supertankers bound for China – slipped out using deceptive tactics, including fake ship names, falsified locations and switching off tracking signals to operate in “dark mode”.