French troops raid Putin 'ghost ship' feared to be behind drone chaos

French troops have raided a "ghost ship" feared to be a suspected Russian vesselthat has launched drones into NATO airspace.

The Benin-flagged oil tanker is believed to be one of three ships under Vladimir Putin's so-called "shadow fleet" that have been behind drone attack chaos. It had been blacklisted by the European Union for being a suspected part of the shadow fleet of aging tankers.

French troops were seen on the deck of the tanker that is currently stationed off the coast of western France. A military source, who asked not to be named, told the AFP the vessel was boarded on Saturday.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday the ship was being probed for "serious offences." He did, however, stop short of confirming reports of a possible connection to done flights believed to have originated from the vessel when it was docked in Denmark between September 22 and 25.

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Macron told reporters at an EU leaders' summit in Copenhagen: "There were some very serious offences committed by this crew, which justify the current judicial procedure." When pressed on any possible drone launches coming from the vessel, Macron said he would "remain very careful" and would not comment on any reported links.

There have been suspicions that the tankers could have been used as either launch platforms or as decoys. Data has shown a different ship, the Astrol 1, had sailed through the Øresund Strait on the night of drone sightings.

It comes as Russia pokes at the ties between NATO members, having launched drones into Polish airspace. The September incident led NATO militaries scrambling aircraft.

Putin's provocation has been viewed as a test to see whether NATO members would be willing to step in to defend one another should Russia launch an attack on one of its neighbours, many of whom were annexed territories of the Russian Empire and its successor state, the Soviet Union.