Russian oil tanker damaged in Ukrainian drone attack

A Russian oil tanker sustained damage in the Kerch Strait after being targeted by Ukrainian drones, briefly halting traffic on the strategic bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula to Russia, according to Moscow media reports on Saturday morning. 

The Russian official news agency TASS quoted the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre stating that the tanker was hit and suffered damage, with two tugs dispatched to the attack site. 

TASS added that no materials leaked from the tanker, which had 11 individuals on board. 

The Moscow Times revealed that the ship in question is the "SIG" oil and chemical tanker subject to US sanctions for supplying fuel to military aircraft in Syria. 

Vladimir Rogov, the Russian official in the Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine, stated that numerous crew members were injured due to shattered glass from the attack. 

Rogov wrote on Telegram, "The explosion on the ship was visible from the Crimean Peninsula, where residents believed it to be an explosion near the nearby settlement of Yakovenkove close to the Crimean Bridge." 

Traffic on the bridge connecting the peninsula, annexed by Moscow, was suspended for approximately three hours before resuming in the early hours of Saturday, according to the Telegram Highway Information Center. 

The ship tracking website "MarineTraffic" showed the SIG tanker stationary and flanked by two tugs south of the strait. 

This latest attack in the Black Sea follows Ukraine's announcement on Friday that one of its drones had struck a Russian warship at a Black Sea base. Russia, in turn, confirmed air raids on the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed. 

The attacks in the Black Sea have escalated from both sides since Moscow's withdrawal last month from an agreement that allowed the export of Ukrainian grain amid the ongoing conflict between the two nations. 

AFP