This luxury yacht belonging to Russian President Vladimir Putin and called the ‘Graceful’ has left the German port of Hamburg before possible Western sanctions over the Ukraine can be implemented.

The EUR-87-million (GBP-73.2-million) yacht, which measures 82 metres in length and which had been at the Blohm+Voss shipyard since September 2021 to be cleaned and for an overhaul, has now left the Port of Hamburg.

This is according to the local newspaper the Kieler Nachrichten, adding that the vessel was seen in the Kiel Canal a few hours after leaving the port. It is now reportedly in the Baltic Sea.

German daily Bild said that the move “was obviously an escape for fear of being arrested”.

The move comes as tensions escalate between NATO member states and Russia over the Ukraine.

NATO forces have reported a significant Russian buildup on the border with the Ukraine, with estimates putting the number of troops stationed there at over 110,000.

NATO member states including Spain, Denmark, France, and the United States have sent military equipment and personnel to the Ukraine to act as a deterrent.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said in a statement that the Ukraine should not try to join the European Union or NATO.

But President Emmanuel Macron has recently said that President Putin has given him personal assurances over the Ukraine, after the French president met with the Russian leader in a bid to defuse tensions.

The United States has threatened severe sanctions should the Russians invade the Ukraine. There is also contention over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, set to transport gas from Russia to Europe in a move that would bypass the Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden has said that if Russia invades the Ukraine, there will be no more Nord Stream 2 and the project will be shut down.