Russian "shadow fleet" tanker crippled in Ukraine drone strike video

The Security Service of Ukraine has, for the first time, carried out a strike against a Russian “shadow fleet” tanker in neutral waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

Sources in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told RBC-Ukraine that the operation marked an unprecedented action conducted at a distance exceeding 2,000 kilometres from Ukrainian territory.

According to the sources, the SBU executed a multi-stage special operation in neutral waters of the Mediterranean Sea, during which the agency’s Alpha special operations unit deployed aerial drones to strike the Russian “shadow fleet” tanker QENDIL.

The sources emphasised that at the time of the strike, the tanker was not carrying any cargo and was empty. As a result, the operation posed no threat to environmental safety in the region.

“Russia used this tanker to circumvent sanctions and earn money that was then used to wage war against Ukraine. Therefore, from the standpoint of international law and the laws and customs of war, this was an absolutely legitimate target for the SBU. The enemy must understand that Ukraine will not stop and will strike it anywhere in the world, wherever it may be,” the source said.

As a result of the strike, the tanker QENDIL sustained critical damage and can no longer be used for its intended purpose.

Earlier, RBC-Ukraine, citing SBU sources, reported that two additional Russian “shadow fleet” tankers — Kairos and Virat — had also been struck. Those vessels were targeted by SBU Sea Baby maritime drones equipped with enhanced warheads.

That operation was conducted jointly by the SBU’s 13th Main Directorate of Military Counterintelligence and the Ukrainian Navy.

Prior to these incidents, explosions were reported aboard two Russian “shadow fleet” tankers in the Black Sea near the Bosphorus Strait, resulting in fires on both vessels.

In the case of the 274-meter tanker Kairos, Türkiye Ministry of Transport clarified that an explosion followed by a fire occurred while the vessel was en route from Egypt to the Russian port of Novorossiysk. The incident took place approximately 28 nautical miles off the Turkish coast.

The second tanker, Virat, was damaged by an explosion about 35 nautical miles off the coast of Türkiye, slightly farther east in the Black Sea.

By Tamilla Hasanova