Ukrainian Navy Strikes Two Russian Shadow Fleet Tankers at Novorossiysk
The Ukrainian Navy and Security Service forces struck two Russian shadow fleet tankers at the entrance to Novorossiysk port on Russia’s Black Sea coast, according to a Telegram announcement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The president published thermal-imaging footage from a naval drone showing one of the strikes, stating that the ships had been “actively used to transport oil.” This marks the second Ukrainian naval drone operation against the shadow fleet in five days, following the 29 April strike on a tanker off Tuapse.
The Russian shadow fleet has grown significantly since the 2022 full-scale invasion, with over 1,000 tankers running through shell companies, hidden ownership chains, and rotating national flags. Ukraine has imposed its own sanctions on nearly 700 vessels linked to Russia’s shadow fleet, enforcing those sanctions with occasional naval drone strikes.
Zelenskyy Announces Naval Drone Strikes
Zelenskyy named the Ukrainian Navy and SBU counterintelligence as the units behind the operation, crediting General Staff chief Andrii Hnatov with leading it. The president stated that “our warriors continue applying sanctions against Russia’s shadow oil fleet — they hit two such vessels in the waters at the entrance to Novorossiysk port. These tankers were actively used to transport oil. Now they won’t be.”
The naval drone’s thermal footage shows one of the strikes from a sea drone’s perspective: a moving tanker is approached from astern, with the drone closing in and striking the rear section of the hull.
Sea Baby Drones Rewrite Cost-Benefit Math
Ukraine’s surface naval drones have rewritten the cost-benefit math of Russia’s Black Sea oil shipping. The SBU’s single Sea Baby drone costs about $240,000, while tanker hulls are valued in the tens of millions of dollars. Black Sea war-risk insurance for tankers has tripled since late 2025.
The 29 April Marquise tanker strike off Tuapse used two kamikaze sea drones against the ship’s stern, leaving the tanker drifting empty with its AIS transponder off, presumably waiting for an at-sea oil rendezvous. The 10 December 2025 strike on the Dashan tanker — a 276-meter Comoros-flagged vessel approaching Novorossiysk — followed the same playbook, with the ship moving at high speed and its transponder off.
Novorossiysk Under Sustained Pressure
Novorossiysk has become Russia’s main Black Sea Fleet base after Ukrainian strikes on occupied Crimea forced the fleet’s relocation east. The city is also Russia’s largest Black Sea oil export port, with its terminals handling about a quarter of Russia’s total seaborne crude and refined product flows.
Ukrainian aerial drones struck the Sheskharis oil terminal complex on 5-6 April 2026, and Russia’s monthly oil export volumes subsequently dropped to an eight-month low. In December 2025, the SBU’s Alpha unit reached the QENDIL tanker more than 2,000 km from Ukrainian territory in the Mediterranean — the most remote confirmed Ukrainian drone strike on a shadow fleet tanker, carried out with aerial rather than naval drones.
The strikes at Novorossiysk and Tuapse demonstrate Ukraine’s determination to enforce its sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet, despite Moscow’s efforts to circumvent international restrictions.
Original Article: “Kinetic sanctions” in action: Two more Russian shadow fleet tankers hit at Novorossiysk — the second naval drone strike in five days — Euromaidan Press