Ukrainian naval drones attacked two oil tankers from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” as they traveled through the Black Sea, Ukrainian officials said.
Footage verified by the BBC shows water drones tearing through the waves towards the ships, before detonating in a fireball, sending black smoke into the air.
The oil tankers attacked were named by Turkish authorities as Kairos and Virat, both flying the Gambian flag. Both were hit off the Turkish coast on Friday and the Virat was reportedly hit again on Saturday. No victims were reported.
The attacks appear to be an escalation by kyiv in its attempt to hit Russia’s oil revenues, which are critical to financing its war in Ukraine.
The two ships are reportedly part of Russia’s “shadow fleet,” a term that refers to the hundreds of tankers used by Russia to circumvent Western sanctions imposed following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The shadow fleet is largely made up of old tankers, many of them with unknown owners or insurance.
The Kairos was hit in the southwestern area of the Black Sea and the Virat in a central area further east. Both are on a list of ships subject to sanctions, according to data from the London Stock Exchange.
The attack used Sea Baby drones, a type of naval drone produced by Ukraine’s security services, known as SBU.
Turkish authorities said they had been assisting the ships and released images showing two Turkish ships attempting to extinguish the fire in the Kairos.
The attacks are seen as a warning by Ukraine, suggesting that ships carrying Russian oil in the Black Sea face the risk of direct attack, not just Western sanctions.
Separately, a major consortium transporting oil from the Caspian region said it had suspended loading at the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk after an attack by unmanned ships overnight.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium said the attack had caused significant damage to a mooring point. Russia and Kazakhstan are the main shareholders of the company, which is also partially owned by Western companies such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Shell.
Kazakh Foreign Minister Aibek Smadiyarov expressed outrage at the attack, which he said was the third of its kind.
He said Kazakhstan attaches special importance to ensuring “stable and uninterrupted” energy supply.
The incident damaged relations between his country and Ukraine, Smadiyarov added, calling on kyiv “to take concrete measures to prevent a repetition of such situations.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that a delegation led by top security official Rustem Umerov was heading to the United States to continue talks on a deal to end the war.
Umerov will lead the Ukrainian delegation as the previous chief negotiator, Zelensky’s influential chief of staff Andriy Yermak, resigned after anti-corruption detectives searched his apartment on Friday.
The Ukrainian delegation is expected to meet with US officials in Florida on Sunday. Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s foreign envoy, will hold talks in Moscow next week.
