Ukraine hits two oil tankers only hours before drones hit the terminal.
Russian forces suspend operations at one of their largest oil terminals after an overnight drone strike.
Sea drones hit the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s marine terminal in Novorossiysk at around 4AM, local reports say.
Tankers Targeted Near Turkey
Naval drones hit two oil tankers off Turkey’s Black Sea coast, an attack Ukraine claims.
The strikes trigger a broad rescue effort.
Coast guard teams and rescue units save the crews through rapid action.
The Gambia-flagged Kairos explodes and burns about 28 nautical miles off Kocaeli province.
It sails without cargo from Egypt toward Novorossiysk, according to the Turkish Transport Ministry.
Soon after, officials report a second hit on the tanker Virat about 35 nautical miles off Turkey’s coast.
Both vessels appear on sanction lists imposed after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Authorities classify them as older cargo ships used by Moscow to bypass crude oil restrictions.
Sanctions and Ukrainian Strategy
OpenSanctions notes that the United States sanctioned Virat in January.
The EU, Switzerland, the UK, and Canada follow afterward.
The EU then sanctions Kairos in July, with the UK and Switzerland acting soon after.
A Ukrainian security official tells The Associated Press that Kyiv uses local Sea Baby naval drones in the tanker strikes.
These drones can transport oil worth more than €60 million.
The official, speaking anonymously, states that Ukrainian intelligence keeps taking active steps to limit Russia’s ability to fund its war.
