Marta Gichko16:16, 10.06.26

The General Staff confirmed damage to the propeller-rudder system of the WEST Horizon tanker, which was used to transport oil in defiance of sanctions.

The Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the tanker WEST Horizon, part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” and used to transport oil in defiance of international sanctions. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed the strike.

According to military officials, the strike damaged the tanker’s propeller and rudder assembly. The nature of the damage may indicate the use of Ukrainian naval surface drones, although the attack method has not been officially disclosed.

WEST Horizon was involved in schemes to transport Russian oil and petroleum products in circumvention of international restrictions imposed against the Russian Federation.

According to Militarnye , citing data from a shipping monitoring service, the tanker flies the flag of Guinea-Bissau and was located in the waters between Turkey and Russia at the time the news of the attack was released.

Ukraine continues to put pressure on its “shadow fleet”

As a reminder, the destruction of WEST Horizon was yet another operation against Russia’s “shadow fleet.” In early May, Ukrainian naval drones attacked two oil tankers at the entrance to the port of Novorossiysk.

At that time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the operation was carried out jointly by the Security Service of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Navy under the coordination of the General Staff.

Drones subsequently attacked three tankers transporting Russian oil near Turkey’s northern Black Sea coast . The Palau-flagged James II, which was in ballast, was hit approximately 80 kilometers north of the Turkeli area and 77 kilometers from the strait. Its engine room was damaged. Two more tankers, the Sierra Leone-flagged Altura and Velora, also in ballast, were attacked while cargo was being transferred between vessels.

(C)UNIAN 2026