Russia Thanks Trump For Releasing Two Russian Crew From Seized Tanker

Even though the Ukraine war is on a trajectory of escalation, which has included Russia launching a hypersonic ballsitic missile overnight on the western city of Lviv, the United States and Moscow are still finding small areas of understanding and cooperation - keeping the window for improved bilateral relations open. Russia-EU relations have spiraled and are essentially broken, but there's yet still at least a glimmer of hope that ties with Washington could soften or even turn around.

Russia confirmed Friday that the United States had agreed to free two Russian crew members from a Russian-flagged oil tanker seized earlier this week. The vessel Marinera is alleged to be part of the so-called shadow fleet transporting oil for countries including Venezuela, Russia and Iran - and it was intercepted a day ago by the US in the North Atlantic after escaping the southern Caribbean off Venezuela.

It was surprising that the ship was intercepted by US forces despite it being escorted by the Russian Navy at the time. The very bold move ordered by the Trump administration raised fears of a direct US-Russian naval exchange of fire in the Atlantic.

Just ahead of the seizure, reports set the scene as follows:

The US is carrying out an operation to seize a tanker linked to Venezuelan oil, an official tells CBS, the BBC's US news partner. Previously named Bella 1, its name has been changed to Marinera and it has also reportedly been reflagged from a Guyanese to a Russian vessel.

Russia has reportedly deployed a submarine and other vessels to escort an oil tanker - which is also being pursued by US forces - across the Atlantic.

But instead of a military showdown on the high seas, there's been rare de-escalation, with Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying in a fresh statement, "At our request, U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to release two Russian citizens aboard the Marinera tanker, who were previously detained by the United States during an operation in the North Atlantic."

"We welcome this decision and express our gratitude to the US leadership," she added. Simultaneously Putin's special envoy and top negotiator Kirill Dmitriev wrote on Telegram that Trump had ordered the release of "all Russians" aboard the Marinera.

Prior US threats to bring the crew up on legal charges was dismissed by Moscow as "categorically unacceptable". Russia had quickly warned that the scenario of prosecution of Russian nationals would "only result in further military and political tensions" - adding that it was alarmed by "Washington's willingness to generate acute international crisis situations."

🇺🇸🇷🇺 NEW: Map by the Telegraph shows the journey of Marinera, formerly known as Bella 1. pic.twitter.com/x5kho3mP7A

— Conflict Dispatch (@ConflictDISP) January 7, 2026

But a real and potentially explosive crisis has thankfully been avoided here, and the Kremlin disclosed that it directly appealed to the Trump administration to quickly release the Russian crewmembers. The explosive situation could have easily spiraled, given also the rare presence of a Russian submarine so near in proximity to US maritime forces.