Ukrainian naval drones targeted two tankers belonging to Russia’s shadow oil fleet near the entrance to the port of Novorossiysk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published the video of the strike.
The Security Service of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Navy jointly performed the operation under the direction of the Chief of the General Staff.
“Our troops continue to enforce sanctions against Russia’s shadow oil fleet — they struck two such vessels in the waters at the entrance to the port of Novorossiysk. These tankers were actively used to transport oil. Now they won’t be,” the President said.
Our warriors continue to apply sanctions against Russia’s shadow oil fleet – two such vessels were struck in the waters at the entrance to the port of Novorossiysk. These tankers had been actively used to transport oil – not anymore. I am grateful to Chief of the General Staff… pic.twitter.com/8aCse8h95j
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 3, 2026
The published video shows that the naval drones struck the stern sections of the vessels, in the area of the propeller-rudder assembly and the engine room. Repairing damage of this kind requires lengthy and costly dockyard work.
This marks the third successful attack by Ukrainian surface drones over the past week. On April 29, two drones struck the sanctioned tanker MARQUISE about 210 km southeast of the Russian city of Tuapse. The vessel was drifting without an AIS signal and was likely waiting to be loaded at sea from another ship to conceal the origin of its cargo.
The tanker MARQUISE is subject to sanctions imposed by Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Canada, and has been used by the Russian side for the illegal transportation of petroleum products.
On the night of April 30, the Ukrainian Navy struck an FSB patrol boat of the Sobol class and a Grachonok-class anti-sabotage boat that were guarding the Kerch Bridge.
