Ukraine has destroyed eight Russian so-called shadow fleet tankers which were believed to be trying to supply annexed Crimea, Kyiv’s military has said.
It is the latest blow to Russian despot Vladimir Putin as Ukraine continues its efforts to isolate the Russian-occupied peninsula and target energy infrastructure.
Ukraine’s commander of Unmanned System Forces, Robert Brovdi, confirmed the successful attack, with the 540ft-long burning tankers with a deadweight of around 7,000 tons left marooned in the Sea of Azov.
He claimed that the tankers were all subject to international sanctions and belonged to Putin’s ‘shadow fleet’ – a thousand ageing tankers that fly the flag of other countries to illicitly ship oil and other goods out of Russia in order to evade sanctions imposed by the West over the war in Ukraine.
Black-and-white, drone-view footage was shared, showing ships being targeted and erupting into flames – although the attacks have not been independently verified.
In a statement on Telegram, Ukraine’s drone forces said: ‘Striking the enemy’s naval logistics complicates the supply of fuel and ammunition necessary to support the activities of Russian troops, primarily in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea.’
Overnight, a further 58 military targets were struck by Ukraine, including key energy infrastructure and logistics hubs which resulted in ‘Crimea’s power grid flickering out’, Commander Brovdi said.
The attacks on Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, has sparked fuel shortages and triggered a state of emergency in the territory, which is critical to Russia’s war on its smaller neighbour, now in its fifth year.
Black-and-white, drone-view footage was shared by the Ukrainian military, showing ships being targeted and erupting into flames
Black-and-white, drone-view footage was shared by the Ukrainian military, showing ships being targeted and erupting into flames
‘The shadow fleet is leaving the chat,’ the Commander Brovdi announced on Telegram.
‘Eight Russian shadow fleet tankers were hunted down and set ablaze in a single night by the ‘Kairos’ pilots of the 414th Separate Battalion ‘Madyar’s Birds.’
‘The battle for fuel supplies to Crimea in the Sea of Azov continues.
‘The aerial-maritime engagement on the night of July 7 reached an industrial scale: a ‘catch’ comprising a shoal of eight fuel tankers, one dry-cargo ship, and one ferry.
‘The fuel-hauling tubs are badly damaged and burning; sanctions delivered from the skies by the Freedom-Loving Ukrainian Bird are in full effect.
‘All tankers have been identified; they are subject to international sanctions, have a deadweight of 7,000 tons, measure 140 meters in length, and were built between 2006 and 2012.’
He added: ‘Overnight on July 7, deep within enemy lines in the temporarily occupied territories, the ‘Birds of Madyar’ (SBS) unit successfully struck 58 legitimate military targets.
‘Crimea’s power grid also flickered out tonight—energy hubs burned alongside logistics infrastructure. Details on that action to follow.
‘We will stand firm. Moscow will fall. We will feed and rebuild Crimea.’
Seven were named as the Venera-3, Sanar-1, Sanar-17, Klymena, Teti, Aleksey Savrasov and Penelope, while the eighth is still being confirmed.
Moscow has not publicly commented on the alleged attack.
It came a day after the same forces said they had hit two other shadow-fleet vessels around the same area.
Kyiv has long urged its international allies to crack down on vessels skirting sanctions by delivering Russian oil to international markets.
Ukrainian forces have attacked with sea drones to disable some tankers transporting Russian oil in the Black Sea, part of a campaign to reduce Moscow’s revenue streams.
There have also been a series of unexplained blasts on tankers that have called at Russian ports. Ukraine has not confirmed or denied its role in those attacks, though maritime security sources suspect Ukraine is behind them.
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