Kyiv/Moscow17 hours ago
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The Ukrainian military has released video of the attack on the Russian oil tankers Kairos and Viraat in the Black Sea.
Two Russian oil ships (tankers) were attacked by underwater drones (Sea Baby) in the Black Sea on Saturday. Ukraine has taken responsibility for this attack. Both ships are considered part of Russia’s ‘Shadow Fleet’. To avoid sanctions, they used to carry Russian oil under flags of different countries.
Earlier there was an explosion on the ship ‘Virat’ on Friday. He was attacked again on Saturday. Turkiye said the ship suffered minor damage, but everyone was safe. The ship was about 30 miles off the Turkish coast.
The name of the second ship is ‘Kairos’. The ship caught fire after the attack. 25 people present in it were evacuated safely. Both ships were flying Gambian flags, but were carrying Russian oil.
At the time of the attack, Virat’s crew had made a mayday call over the open frequency radio, repeatedly saying, “This is Virat. Help needed! Drone attack! Mayday, mayday, mayday!”
Pictures of the attack…
Ukraine carried out a drone attack on Russian oil ship Viraat on Saturday.
After the attack, a massive fire broke out in the ship.
The ship is damaged by the attack, but all crew members are safe.
Ukraine claimed that both ships were carrying Russian oil.
Ukraine said – the ships are no longer usable, they caused harm to Russia
According to the Security Agency of Ukraine, this operation was carried out jointly by the SBU and the Navy and both ships have suffered so much damage that they are no longer usable.
They claim that this will have a big impact on Russia’s oil supply. No statement has been given by Russia on this yet.
At the same time, CNN quoted sources as saying that both these attacks were completely planned and underwater and surface drones were used in them. The ship caught fire after the attack.
America and Britain banned Virat
Virat earlier used to run under some other name and it was banned by America in January 2025. Later Britain and the European Union also banned it.
Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said signs of external impact were found on the ship, pointing to an attack by mines, rockets or maritime drones.
Virat’s 20 crew members were evacuated safely after Friday’s attack, while all 25 Kairos crew members were also rescued. Both attacks took place outside Turkey’s territorial waters, so Turkey is only assisting in the rescue effort.
Virat, an expert in dodging, was part of Russia’s shadow fleet.
Virat (M/T Virat) is a crude oil tanker, which is considered part of Russia’s “Shadow Fleet”. This ship is mainly used to transport Russian oil to Asia and other markets by avoiding international sanctions.
It was constructed in 2018. To avoid Western sanctions imposed after the 2022 Russia-Ukraine war, Russia resorts to ships that keep changing names, flags and owners.
Currently runs under the flag of Gambia. It previously operated under the flags of Barbados, Comoros, Liberia and Panama. It was sold to a Chinese company in January 2025.
These ships operate with their AIS (Automatic Identification System) transponders turned off, causing them to disappear from radar and surveillance systems. This makes it difficult to track their activities.
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