Ukrainian media on Saturday published unusual footage showing strikes on Russian “shadow fleet” oil tankers sailing in the Black Sea near Turkey. The videos were recorded by cameras on the unmanned sea craft that hit the tankers close to the Bosporus Strait. In later clips filmed from a distance, the vessels can be seen burning.
A source in Ukraine’s security services confirmed to Reuters that Kyiv was behind the attack. “Video footage shows that after the hit, both tankers suffered critical damage and were effectively taken out of service. This will deal a significant blow to Russian oil transport,” the source said.
Russian oil tanker attack near Turkey
CNN also quoted a Ukrainian official who took responsibility for the operation. According to that report, the unmanned vessels used were the Ukrainian “Sea Baby” model, a kind of suicide sea drone. Ukraine said last month it upgraded the craft so its range can reach up to 1,500 kilometers, allowing it to operate across the Black Sea. Kyiv says a Sea Baby can carry a warhead of up to 2,000 kilograms.
“Shadow fleet” is the term used for tankers sailing under non-Russian flags that allegedly help Russia sell oil while bypassing international sanctions. The ships attacked on Friday, according to reports, were the Virat, sailing under a Gambian flag, which Turkish authorities said was hit once on Friday and again on Saturday, and the Kairos, also under a Gambian flag. No casualties were reported.
Turkey’s transport minister said Friday the tankers had been struck by an “external factor,” adding that it could have been a mine, an unmanned aircraft or an unmanned sea vessel. Turkey’s transport ministry said two rescue boats, a tug and an emergency vessel were immediately dispatched to the Kairos, and that “25 crew members on board were evacuated safely.”
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The unmanned ‘Sea Baby’ craft, which reports say exploded against tankers from Russia’s ‘shadow flee
(Photo: AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
At the same time, Russia continues its wide-ranging attacks on Ukrainian cities, aimed largely at energy facilities. Kyiv says the goal is to freeze Ukrainians over the winter in an attempt to break public morale. The overnight assault targeted Kyiv and, according to Ukrainian authorities, included 36 missiles and nearly 600 drones. Three people were killed and dozens were wounded.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said Russia hit power infrastructure in the barrage on Kyiv and five other regions. As a result, the ministry said, about 600,000 households lost electricity, more than 500,000 of them in Kyiv.
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Nearly 600 drones and 36 missiles. The destruction in Kyiv after the Russian attack
(Photo: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)
Meanwhile, U.S.-brokered talks aimed at ending the war are continuing despite a political shake-up in Kyiv following the resignation late this week of Andrii Yermak, chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Yermak, who led Ukraine’s negotiating team, stepped down after being implicated in a corruption scandal that has rocked the country. His resignation came at a sensitive moment, just hours before Ukraine’s delegation left Kyiv for Miami for further talks with President Trump, envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Earlier, Zelenskyy announced that National Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov is now heading the delegation. “The task is clear: to work quickly and substantively on the steps required to end the war,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. He added that he expects results building on previous meetings with the United States in Geneva.