In a move described by BBC as a significant escalation in Ukraine’s campaign to undermine Russia’s wartime oil revenues, Kyiv’s naval drones have struck two tankers linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet in the Black Sea. The attack adds new pressure on vessels transporting Russian oil, a key target in Ukraine’s broader strategy to disrupt Moscow’s resources.
Verified footage shows Ukrainian Sea Baby drones racing across choppy waters before slamming into the ships and erupting into fire, sending columns of smoke skyward. Turkish maritime authorities identified the damaged vessels as the Kairos and Virat, both sailing under the Gambian flag. The strikes occurred off Turkey’s coast on Friday, and Turkish officials reported that the Virat was hit again the following day. No injuries were reported.
The two tankers are part of Russia’s expanding “shadow fleet” – a loose network of older ships with opaque ownership, widely used to circumvent Western oil sanctions imposed after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion. Data cited via the London Stock Exchange also lists both vessels among those subject to existing sanctions.
According to officials, the MV Kairos was struck in the southwestern sector of the Black Sea, while the Virat was hit farther east. Ukrainian security services (SBU) were responsible for deploying the Sea Baby drones, a domestically developed class of naval drones increasingly used in long-range maritime strikes.
Turkey said it assisted the vessels after the attack, releasing videos of its rescue boats attempting to put out fires aboard the Kairos. Analysts suggest the strikes send a pointed warning: tankers helping transport Russian crude may now face direct military risk in addition to sanctions pressure.
Meanwhile, political shifts continue in Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that a delegation headed by national security chief Rustem Umerov is en route to the United States to continue negotiations aimed at securing a pathway toward ending the war. Umerov replaces former chief negotiator Andriy Yermak, who resigned after anti-corruption authorities searched his residence on Friday.
