A Russian-flagged tanker, the Midvolga-2, reported being attacked in the Black Sea roughly 130 km (about 80 miles) off the Turkish coast. The vessel, which was carrying sunflower oil bound for Georgia, reported the incident to Turkish maritime authorities and continued toward the port of Sinop after confirming its crew were unharmed.
Turkey's Directorate General of Maritime Affairs said all 13 crew members were safe and the ship had not requested assistance. A Turkish broadcaster reported that a kamikaze-style drone may have been used, while a government official said Ankara conveyed its concerns to the relevant parties, including Ukrainian authorities.
This incident follows recent strikes on two other Russian-flagged tankers that Kyiv has said were part of a so-called "shadow fleet" — vessels allegedly transporting Russian crude under false flags to evade sanctions. Ukrainian officials have confirmed attacks on ships identified as heading to Russian ports to load oil for export markets.
A recent report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found that more than a hundred vessels sailed under false flags in the first nine months of the year, moving roughly 11 million tonnes of Russian crude with an estimated value of about €4.7 billion.
Turkey, a NATO member, has tried to balance relations with both Kyiv and Moscow since the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ankara has acted as a mediator in peace talks and supplied military equipment to Ukraine, but has declined to join Western sanctions on Russia and has repeatedly stressed the need to preserve navigational safety in the Black Sea.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said such attacks threaten navigational safety, lives and the environment, adding that Turkey had issued warnings to all relevant parties. Moscow's foreign ministry has denounced attacks on tankers and energy infrastructure in the Black Sea as "acts of terrorism" and warned they jeopardize freedom of navigation.
Kyiv has in recent months intensified strikes on Russia's oil infrastructure — including refineries, terminals and tankers — aiming to reduce revenue that supports the war effort. Russian authorities separately reported that a Ukrainian drone strike caused a fire at an oil facility in the Oryol region.
The situation highlights rising risks to commercial shipping and regional stability: attacks at sea can endanger crews, pollute maritime environments and complicate efforts by coastal states to safeguard their exclusive economic zones.
