The SBU announces an unprecedented operation. A Russian ghost fleet oil tanker hit by drones in the Mediterranean Sea
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claims to have struck, for the first time, an oil tanker belonging to the Russian fleet in the neutral waters of the Mediterranean Sea, more than 2,000 kilometers from Ukrainian territory.
The tanker QENDIL would have suffered serious damage. PHOTO: video capture X/@Tendar
The information was transmitted by sources within the SBU. According to them, the operation was carried out in several stages by the Alpha special unit of the SBU, which attacked with drones the oil tanker QENDIL, considered part of the fleet used by Russia to evade international sanctions, reports RBC-Ukraine.
At the time of the attack, the ship was not carrying any cargo, being empty, and Ukrainian sources emphasize that there was no risk to the safety of the environment.
“Russia used this tanker to evade sanctions and earn money that was then used to wage war against Ukraine. From the point of view of international law and the laws and customs of war, this makes it a completely legitimate target for the SBU. The enemy must understand that Ukraine will not stop and hit it anywhere in the world, no matter where it is.”said a source from the SBU.
As a result of the attack, the tanker QENDIL is said to have suffered serious damage, rendering it unusable for its original purpose.
This is not the only action of this type assigned to the SBU. Ukrainian sources previously reported that two other oil tankers of the so-called Russian “ghost fleet” — Kairos and Virat — were hit by SBU Sea Baby maritime drones equipped with improvised explosive charges.
In the case of the 274-meter-long Kairos oil tanker, Turkey's Transport Ministry confirmed that an explosion followed by a fire occurred while the ship was traveling from Egypt to the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
The incident occurred approximately 28 nautical miles from the coast of Turkey. Another oil tanker, Virat, was damaged by an explosion about 35 nautical miles off the Turkish coast, in an area in the eastern Black Sea.
