The oil tanker Kairos stranded off near the Black Sea port of Ahtopol, Bulgaria, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, after an alleged Ukrainian drone attack. (AP Photo/ Zdravko Vassilev)
Ukraine's naval drones have struck another Russian tanker in the Black Sea, a Ukrainian security source said Wednesday, accusing the vessel of belonging to Moscow's sanctions-busting "shadow fleet".
Kiev — which has been fending off Russia's invasion for almost four years — claimed similar hits on Russia-linked tankers off Türkiye's Black Sea coast last month after two empty oil tankers were hit by explosions.
This drew harsh criticism from Ankara, which summoned envoys from both Russia and Ukraine and warned that Black Sea drone attacks amounted to a "worrying escalation".
On Wednesday, Kiev's naval drones "struck the Dashan oil tanker, which belongs to the Russian Federation's 'shadow fleet', in the Black Sea", a source in Ukraine's GUR military intelligence service told AFP.
The vessel, under the flag of the Comoros Islands, "suffered critical damage", the source added.
Türkiye, which has sought to maintain relations with Moscow and Kiev throughout the war, controls the Bosphorus Strait, a key passage for transporting Ukrainian grain and Russian oil towards the Mediterranean.
