Two Russia-linked “shadow fleet” tankers suffered sequential strikes on Friday in Turkey’s Black Sea waters.
Preliminary reporting from Turkish authorities indicates both incidents resulted from external interference, consistent with a mine, drone, missile, or unmanned surface vessel.
By Saturday morning, Visegrád 24 circulated new footage from Ukraine showing explosive-laden kamikaze drone boats striking both tankers at the stern, rendering the vessels inoperable.
“Ukraine released videos of its naval drones striking two Russian shadow-fleet oil tankers off the Turkish Black Sea coast yesterday. The tankers were supposed to pick up oil in the Russian port of Novorossiysk,” Visegrád 24 wrote on X, posting accompanying footage showing both attacks.
BREAKING:
Ukraine releases videos of their naval drones striking 2 Russian shadow fleet oil tankers off the Turkish Black Sea coast yesterday.
The tankers were supposed to pick up oil in the Russian port of Novorossiysk. pic.twitter.com/z6JqiyUwRd
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) November 29, 2025
X account OSINTtechnical posted footage of tankers Kairos and Virat engulfed in fire.
Two Russian shadow fleet tankers were struck, and likely destroyed, north of the Bosporus while traveling to the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk today. pic.twitter.com/kSHjayydQq
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) November 28, 2025
According to the OpenSanctions database, both Kairos and Virat are part of the Russian shadow fleet of tankers that were slapped with hefty Western sanctions following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine and its Western allies have spent the past several years targeting Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure with kamikaze aircraft and naval drones in an effort to pressure Moscow’s finances. This campaign, accompanied by sanctions, has yet to financially collapse Russia.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Trump moved closer to outlining a fledgling peace plan to end the nearly four-year war, which has been little more than a meat grinder on both sides.
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