Ukraine for the first time hit an oil tanker from Russia’s shadow fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, a fresh escalation in its drone strikes on ships helping carry barrels for Moscow.
The 250-meter (820-foot) Qendil was hit more than 1,200 miles from Ukraine’s borders and was empty at the time, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named discussing sensitive information. The incident was the first involving an oil tanker in the Mediterranean and posed no environmental risk because it had no cargo on board, the person said.
Russia and Ukraine are fighting an increasingly intense energy war as they attempt to gain a meaningful advantage after months of little movement on the frontlines, and amid continuing peace talks.
As well as strikes on refineries and oil platforms — including a fresh one on Friday — Ukraine has been ramping up the targeting ships that it says are part of Russia’s shadow fleet in recent weeks in a bid to reduce oil revenues that help finance the Kremlin’s war. Meanwhile, Russia is striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure, leaving thousands without power, water and heat during winter.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Ukrainian drone strikes on tankers that carry Russia’s barrels won’t affect the nation’s export flows.
Some vessels have begun hugging Georgia and Turkey’s coastline when the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk — a 350-mile detour that suggests they might be trying to avoid attack.
The Qendil was sailing empty toward the Baltic port of Ust-Luga, but appeared to turn around in the early hours of Friday morning, according to vessel tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
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Qendil was sailing under the flag of Oman, according to the Equasis maritime database. The ship’s manager didn’t immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
Separately, Ukraine hit a drilling rig at Lukoil’s Grayfer offshore project in the Russian part of Caspian Sea, causing damage of the platform’s gas turbine installation, a person familiar with the details of the operation said on condition of anonymity. It’s the second attack on the Grayfer project after another on Wednesday.
In the past few days, drones have also attacked Lukoil’s Filanovsky and Korchagin fields.
Lukoil didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment and it wasn’t possible to verify what the person said.
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