- Joined
- Mar 3, 2021
Russian sources now report that no less than 4 tankers of Russia's shadow fleet have been struck in the Black Sea.
- Ukrainian drone strikes on January 13, 2026, damaged four Greek-managed tankers—Delta Harmony, Matilda, Freud, and Delta Supreme—in the Black Sea near Novorossiysk, Russia, as confirmed by Reuters and other sources, disrupting vessels en route to load Kazakh and Russian oil.
- Russia's shadow fleet, comprising over 600 aging tankers used to bypass Western sanctions, has lost at least 20 vessels to Ukrainian attacks since 2022, reducing Moscow's oil export capacity by an estimated 5-10% according to a 2025 Lloyd's List report.
- These strikes exemplify Ukraine's evolving naval drone strategy, which has neutralized much of Russia's Black Sea Fleet and imposed de facto blockades, potentially costing Russia $1-2 billion annually in lost oil revenues per International Energy Agency data.
