Ukrainian Sea Baby naval drones struck two sanctioned Russian oil tankers, Kairos and Virat, on Nov. 28, disabling vessels tied to the Kremlin’s shadow fleet, a Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) source told the Kyiv Independent on Nov. 29.<\/p>\n
The operation targeted ships off Turkey’s Black Sea<\/a> coast that, according to the source, could have transported nearly $70 million worth of oil and helped Moscow bypass international sanctions<\/a>.<\/p>\n The source told the Kyiv Independent that both tankers were en route to the Russian port of Novorossiysk<\/a> to load cargo and were empty at the time of the attack.<\/p>\n The source said the drones “successfully completed their work on the ships,” adding that the joint operation with the Ukrainian Navy<\/a> dealt “a significant blow to Russian oil transportation.”<\/p>\n Video provided by the source shows both tankers suffering critical damage.<\/p>\n Ukrainian Sea Baby naval drones strike Russian oil tankers Kairos and Virat in the Black Sea on Nov. 28. (SBU)<\/p>\n The blasts hit vessels with long histories of sanctions evasion. <\/p>\n The shadow fleet<\/a> consists of tankers that rely on opaque ownership, flags of convenience, and irregular shipping practices to move Russian oil despite Western restrictions.<\/p>\n