Technology

Honestly though, the Russians do it this way specifically because it’s a deniable operation, and even if they’re caught, the criminal prosecution can be a nightmare.

So, idk; maybe if they’re caught sabotaging critical infrastructure of sovereign nations that happen to be in international waters, and intentionally setting things up so that it’s infeasible or impossible to successfully prosecute… don’t bother with the prosecution, go a bit old-school, and let the crew and the vessel plead their case with Davey Jones. Yes, it’s admittedly an extremely harsh approach… but, you know, fuck around and find out. If normal channels are intentionally made impossible to pursue, abnormal channels become the only real recourse.

Civilized societies need to understand that there are people and nations that will intentionally exploit the ambiguities that exist on the fringes of said civilizations, and sometimes, violent response is the optimal solution. And it doesn’t have to be “from here on out” - it just has to be done a few times in particularly egregious situations that are going to become a legal quagmire. It’s analogous to a bully who beats you up constantly, and then one day you snap and bring a monkey wrench in your backpack and break his kneecaps. He’s not gonna beat you up anymore after that.

Edit: and, compared to the idiotic bullshit we’re doing in the Caribbean right now, I’d feel a lot less bad if we sent a couple sabotage-oriented Russian shadow fleet vessels to the ocean floor instead.