Russia says tanker hit in Ukrainian attack near Crimea

BBC News:

A Russian tanker with 11 crew members has been hit in a Ukrainian attack in the Black Sea, Russian officials say.

They said the vessel’s engine room was damaged in the overnight strike in the Kerch Strait. No-one was hurt.

Russia’s maritime transport agency later named the vessel as a Sig tanker. It gave its location as 17 miles (27km) south of the Crimean Bridge.

Ukraine has not publicly commented. But a Ukrainian security service source told the BBC a sea drone had been used.

They said the operation was conducted jointly with the Ukrainian navy and that 450kg of TNT explosive had been used.

The Kerch Strait connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating Crimea – Ukraine’s peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014 – and Russia’s Taman peninsula.

Naval drones, or sea drones, are small, unmanned vessels which operate on or below the water’s surface. Research by BBC Verify suggests Ukraine has carried out several attacks with sea drones, including one on Friday on a Russian ship.