Kiev attacked Kazakh-commissioned tanker – Russian military
Two Ukrainian drones were involved in an attack on an oil tanker, which took place in the Black Sea on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.
The incident involving the crude oil tanker Matilda was reported by the Kazakh state-owned oil company KazMunayGas (KMG), whose subsidiary commissioned the ship to pick up cargo at the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
The shipment was part of the operations of the international Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which transports fuel extracted in Kazakhstan via Russia to international markets.
According to the Russian military, the Malta-flagged vessel was attacked some 100km from the Russian city of Anapa at around 10:15am local time.
Earlier on Wednesday, footage purportedly showing a kamikaze drone striking the second tanker, the Delta Harmony, surfaced online.
Ukrainian officials have declined to comment on the incidents. Moscow previously accused Kiev of deliberately targeting CPC infrastructure on Russian soil as part of its campaign of long-range strikes against the country.
Last November, after Kazakhstan formally protested the disruption of its exports, Kiev argued that Russia is responsible for any damage caused to foreign nations as part of Ukraine’s military actions.
Russian officials say Kiev is resorting to terrorist tactics and is inflicting damage to third parties not involved in the conflict between the two nations.
