Paul Goble
Staunton, Dec. 5 – The Faroe Islands, a Danish territory which enjoys broad autonomy, has banned ships operated by two Russian fishing companies from entering its ports, a dramatic increase of its 2022 restrictions on Russian shipping in its waters and a step that the Russian foreign ministry says it is considering what steps to take in response.
On December 3, the parliament of the Faroe Islands autonomy voted 17 to 12 to take this step; and the islands executive branch imposed it two days later (cfts.org.ua/news/2025/12/05/farerski_ostrovi_zaboronili_zakhoditi_do_svokh_portiv_sudnam_rosiyskikh_kompaniy_85179).
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Mariya Zakharova said that Moscow was now considering how to respond, noting that the Russian government had not taken any steps three years ago when the Faroes government joined most but not all of the EU sanctions regime against Russia (rg.ru/2025/12/04/zaharova-prokommentirovala-prisoedinenie-farerskih-ostrovov-k-sankciiam-protiv-rf.html).
Because of the importance of fishing to the Faeroes economy, its government has been less willing than Copenhagen to take harsh measures against Russian actions in the past, something Moscow has played on as it has in other islands in the northeastern Atlantic like Svalbard and Aaland.
That has raised the specter that Moscow might try to use these islands for an initial military move against NATO, and the Faeros’ new decision suggests that that threat is prompting the governments of these islands to move closer to that of the governments of the states of which they are a part.
For background on these islands, their relations with Moscow since 2022, and the risks of their becoming targets of a Russian military move, see windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2024/12/with-trump-again-talking-about.html and the sources cited therein.
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