'Successful' Ukrainian naval drone strike disables 2 Russian shadow fleet tankers, source says
Ukrainian Sea Baby naval drones struck two sanctioned Russian oil tankers, Kairos and Virat, on Nov. 28, disabling vessels tied to the Kremlin's shadow fleet, a Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) source told the Kyiv Independent on Nov. 29.
The operation targeted ships off Turkey's Black Sea coast that, according to the source, could have transported nearly $70 million worth of oil and helped Moscow bypass international sanctions.
The source told the Kyiv Independent that both tankers were en route to the Russian port of Novorossiysk to load cargo and were empty at the time of the attack.
The source said the drones "successfully completed their work on the ships," adding that the joint operation with the Ukrainian Navy dealt "a significant blow to Russian oil transportation."
Video provided by the source shows both tankers suffering critical damage.
The blasts targeted vessels with a long history of sanctions evasion.
The shadow fleet consists of tankers that rely on opaque ownership, flags of convenience, and irregular shipping practices to move Russian oil despite Western restrictions.
Bloomberg reported that Kairos was returning to Novorossiysk after delivering Urals crude to India. Virat, sanctioned by the U.S. and EU for Russian oil transport, spent much of the year idle in the western Black Sea after being added to the U.S. sanctions list on Jan. 10.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement following the strikes on the tankers, which were both sailing under the Gambian flag. The ministry expressed "concern" for safety in the region.
"These incidents, which occurred within Turkey's Exclusive Economic Zone in the Black Sea, have posed serious risks to the safety of navigation, life, property, and the environment in the region," the ministry said.
"We are maintaining our contacts with the relevant parties to prevent the spread and further escalation of the war across the Black Sea, and to avoid any negative impact on Turkey's economic interests and activities in the region."
Turkey is one of the few countries to maintain direct contact with both Kyiv and Moscow since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, leveraging its unique position on the Black Sea to act as a mediator between both sides.
Turkey controls the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, making it the only NATO member able to restrict naval access to the Black Sea.
