&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Ukraine strikes Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker in Mediterranean for the first time")
Ukraine has struck an oil tanker of the Russian “shadow fleet” in the Mediterranean Sea with aerial drones for the first time, an official said on Friday as instances of Kyiv’s attacks on Russian oil shipping continue to grow. The vessel, named the Qendil, was empty when it was struck by drones in neutral waters more than 2,000 km (1,250 miles) from Ukraine, sustaining critical damage, the SBU security service official said in a written statement.
The tanker was located off Libya’s coast at 1330 GMT, MarineTraffic data showed.
The Ukrainian official, who declined to be named, did not share exactly the tanker’s location at the time of the attack or when it happened. Overhead footage provided by the source showed an explosion on the deck of a tanker.
Ukraine has been attacking Russian oil refineries over the last two years but has increased in recent weeks, striking oil rigs in the Caspian Sea and claiming credit for sea-drone attacks on three tankers in the Black Sea.
Ukraine claims that Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” or unregulated ships that help Moscow export large quantities of oil and fund its war despite all sanctions.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to sever Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea in response to the attacks on tankers, but there was no fresh comment from Moscow on the latest strike.
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The strike on the Qendil is notable not only because it was further away in the Mediterranean but also because aerial drones were used.
The Ukrainian official did not reveal how the drones reached the ship but said the operation involved “multi-stage” measures.
The SBU, the security agency behind the attack, had conducted highly sophisticated attacks against Russia, smuggling in dozens of drones for an operation in June to destroy strategic bombers at air bases far beyond the front.
Moreover, there have been a string of unexplained blasts on tankers at Russian ports since December 2024. Ukraine did not confirm nor deny its involvement in them, but maritime security sources suspect Kyiv is behind them, some involving limpet mines on vessels in the Mediterranean.
Two crew members of the Russian-flagged tanker Valeriy Gorchakov were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the southern Russian port of Rostov-on-Don this week.
