Ukraine says it struck a Russian “shadow fleet” tanker with aerial drones in the Mediterranean, its first attack in those waters since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion nearly four years ago.
A source in Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) described the operation as “new, unprecedented,” saying it took place in neutral waters roughly 2,000 kilometers from Ukraine’s borders. The source said the targeted vessel, identified as the QENDIL, was empty at the time, sustained “critical damage” and “cannot be used for its intended purpose,” adding there was no environmental threat from the strike.
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Kyiv argues the tanker was part of a sprawling Russian-linked “shadow fleet” used to circumvent Western sanctions and help fund the Kremlin’s war effort. Western officials and shipping experts estimate the network includes up to 1,000 vessels that frequently reflag and obscure ownership, enabling Moscow to export crude despite curbs. Some European leaders and analysts also suspect elements of the fleet have supported hybrid operations across the continent.
The SBU source framed the attack as a legitimate wartime action against Russia’s logistics and finances. “The enemy must understand that Ukraine will not stop and will strike them anywhere in the world, wherever they may be,” the source said.
Kyiv has claimed previous strikes on Russia-linked tankers in the Black Sea, including incidents off Turkey’s coast involving explosions aboard two empty oil carriers. The Mediterranean strike signals a widening of Ukraine’s campaign to pressure Russian maritime assets beyond the immediate theater of war.
The development came as Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual end-of-year news conference in Moscow to tout battlefield momentum and harden his demands on any potential settlement. “The ball is now fully and completely on the side of our Western opponents… first of all the head of the Kyiv regime and their European sponsors,” Putin said, while asserting that Russia would continue its offensive.
Putin repeated his claim that Moscow did not start the war and said he did not feel personally responsible for the heavy toll since 2022, calling it “Europe’s worst conflict since World War II.” He denied dragging out talks and said Russia had agreed to unspecified “compromises,” without providing details.
On the battlefield, Putin said Russian forces were advancing “along the entire line of contact” and predicted “new success” by year’s end. In November, analysis of data by the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War indicated Russia made its largest territorial gains in a year, underscoring the grinding nature of the fighting across eastern Ukraine.
Putin also warned of “severe” consequences if European Union countries proceed with proposals to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s defense and reconstruction. EU leaders this week failed to finalize plans to tap those funds during late-night talks, highlighting divisions over long-term financing and legal risk.
As Putin spoke, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on a visit to Warsaw, argued that Russia would threaten Poland if Ukraine falls, underscoring Kyiv’s plea for continued Western military and financial support.
The strike in the Mediterranean and Putin’s combative messaging encapsulate the conflict’s two fronts: Ukraine’s drive to disrupt Russian revenue and logistics abroad, and the Kremlin’s bid to cement gains on the ground while pressuring the West over sanctions and assets. With no immediate pathway to talks and both sides signaling resolve, the war’s scope—and the risk of spillover beyond the Black Sea—appears set to widen.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
