VLADIMIR Putin has slammed France's detention of a suspected Russian cargo amid suspicions it helped launch drones into Nato airspace.

The Russian president threatened a "significant response" to what he called European threats as tension flared between Moscow and Nato over air incursions.

Putin's warning came after the French navy on Saturday detained and boarded an oil tanker that has been blacklisted by the European Union for being part of Russia 's sanction-busting "shadow fleet".

The ship, the Boracay, has been linked to mysterious drone flights over Denmark last month, including military sites.

It was part of a recent spate of drone sightings and airspace violations in European countries blamed on Russia -- though Moscow denies responsibility.

The Benin-flagged

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