Ukraine has struck a Russian "shadow fleet" oil tanker in the Mediterranean Sea with aerial drones for the first time, an official said on Friday, reflecting the growing intensity of Kyiv's attacks on Russian oil shipping,
Reuters reports.
The vessel - the Qendil - was empty when it was struck by drones in neutral waters more than 2,000 km (1,250 miles) from Ukraine, sustaining critical damage, the official at the SBU security service said in a written statement.
The tanker was located off Libya's coast at 1330 GMT, MarineTraffic data showed. The Ukrainian official, who declined to be named, did not say exactly where the tanker had been at the time of the attack or when it happened.
Overhead footage provided by the source showed a small explosion on the deck of a tanker. Reuters confirmed the vessel shown in the video was the Qendil by comparing it with file imagery, but could not verify the time or location.
Ukraine has been attacking Russian oil refineries throughout 2024 and 2025, but has visibly widened its campaign in recent weeks, striking oil rigs in the Caspian Sea and claiming credit for sea-drone attacks on three tankers in the Black Sea.
Those tankers as well as the Oman-flagged Qendil are part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" - unregulated ships that Kyiv says are helping Moscow export large quantities of oil and fund its war in Ukraine despite Western sanctions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has threatened to sever Ukraine's access to the Black Sea in response to the attacks on tankers, which he has derided as piracy.
