2023-08-05 13:57:16
The attack by Ukrainian drones against a hit Russian oil tanker on Friday night, August 4, in the Kerch Strait, briefly interrupting traffic on the bridge that connects Crimea to Russia, is a new sign of the growing tensions in black Sea. Operations, both Russian and Ukrainian, have multiplied in this region since Moscow refused, in mid-July, to renew the agreement negotiated by the UN to authorize the export of Ukrainian cereals by sea.
Tanker targeted
“During the night, the SBU – the Ukrainian security services – blew up the SIG, a major tanker of the Russian Federation, which was carrying fuel for the Russian soldiers”said kyiv, which claims a ” hit “ for this “special operation” conducted against “one of Russia’s leading tankers”. “It was well loaded with fuel, so the fireworks were visible from afar”quipped an SBU source.
Russia’s Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport confirmed the attack, but said it did not cause any casualties or cause an oil leak and the ship was still afloat. “It suffered a waterline hole in the engine room area, but preparations are underway to repair the damage”clarified
The Marine Traffic site actually showed the vessel – the chemical tanker SIG – being assisted by tugs in the southern Kerch Strait which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov between Crimea and Russia. The operation nevertheless led Russia to suspend, for three hours, traffic on the bridge linking the peninsula to the mainland and whose importance is strategic because it allows the delivery of equipment to Russian soldiers on the Ukrainian front.
kyiv wants Crimea back
This latest attack comes the day after a Ukrainian drone struck a Russian warship, the Olenegroski Gorniak, based in Novorossïysk, a major oil port on the Black Sea and terminus of an oil pipeline which allows the export of most of the oil from Kazakhstan and Russian regions north of the Caspian Sea.
Again, Ukraine claimed a successful operation. “The objective was to show that we can attack any Russian warship in this area”said the SBU. “A new Russian ship is about to sink”commented the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on social networks in caption of a video showing a steeply inclined building.
Russia claims to have repelled the attack. “The drones were visually detected and destroyed by fire from Russian ships”, said the Ministry of Defense. According to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), the pipeline has not suffered any damage and oil continues to be transported on board tankers docked in the port. kyiv, which launched a counter-offensive in early June to retake the territories conquered by Moscow, still proclaims its intention to recover Crimea annexed by Moscow since 2014.
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