Ukraine claimed responsibility on Saturday for attacking two Russian tankers in the Black Sea off Turkey’s coast.
The two tankers, named Virat and Kairos, fly under the Gambian flag and were struck within a special economic zone in the Black Sea, rather than Turkish territorial waters, Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu stated on Saturday.
Ukraine argues the tankers were in fact part of Russia’s shadow fleet used to bypass Western sanctions.
The Virat was targeted approximately 35 nautical miles (about 65 kilometres) off Turkey’s coast.
No fire broke out on the Virat, and its crew remained unharmed, Uraloglu said. Turkish rescue teams kept a safe distance from the ship as no emergency calls were made.
The Kairos, however, caught fire on Friday evening following an explosion 28 nautical miles (roughly 52 kilometres) from Turkey’s coast.
All 25 crew members were evacuated safely, Turkish authorities reported.
Both tankers, which were empty at the time of the attacks, have been sanctioned by Western nations for transporting oil from Russian ports in defiance of the embargoes imposed following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian security services said the vessels were heading to the Russian port of Novorossiysk in the northeastern Black Sea, near the entrance to the Sea of Azov, where they were scheduled to load more oil.
