On Friday, information circulated in the media that two ships belonging to the Russian shadow fleet suffered a breakdown in the Black Sea. “Explosions in the engine room of both ships could have caused the mine to be impacted,” Reuters reported at the time.
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The explosion that caused a fire in the engine room of the Kairos ship occurred about 30 miles off the Turkish coast, near the Bosphorus Strait, according to Reuters. The ship under the Gambian flag was sailing to Novorossiysk, located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. In a separate incident, the ship “Virat” was damaged also belonging to the Western-sanctioned Russian shadow fleet. There was also an explosion there.
Ukraine confirms attack on Russian shadow fleet
Now we know how these mysterious explosions on Russian ships occurred. The recording circulating on the Internet shows burning tankers, and the official statement says that the units were seriously damaged.
“Video footage shows that both tankers suffered serious damage after being hit and were effectively taken out of service. “This will be a serious blow to Russian oil transport.” — we read in a statement from the Ukrainian army.
Both “Kairos” and “Virat” are on the list of vessels subject to sanctions imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Both tankers fly the flag of Gambia.
