Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv’s forces strike Russian ship and oil rig in fresh assault on Putin’s war machine
Ukraine claimed to have struck a Russian warship and drilling facilities in the Caspian Sea during Kyiv’s latest maritime blitz against Putin’s ailing war machine.
The nighttime drone attack hit the Okhotnik-class patrol ship and an offshore drilling platform in the Filanovsky oil and gas field, owned by sanctioned energy giant Lukoil, according to Ukraine’s SOFCOM.
Damage was still being assessed on Saturday, Ukraine’s general staff said. Drones separately struck a radar system in annexed Crimea.
The reports emerged after Ukraine claimed its first attack on a Russian ‘shadow fleet’ oil tanker in the Mediterranean on Friday.
The Qendil tanker sustained critical damage from the strikes in neutral waters off the coast of Libya, more than 2,000km from Ukraine, an official from Ukraine’s SBU security service said.
Russia’s “shadow fleet” of unregulated ships has been a thorn in the side of Kyiv, allowing Russia to export large quantities of oil and fund its invasion despite Western sanctions.
The strikes come as Europe announced a €90bn (£79bn) loan for Ukraine over two years – a boon for Kyiv’s economy, but less than hoped as leaders failed to agree on the use of frozen Russian assets.
