Overview
- The SBU used aerial drones to hit the QENDIL in neutral Mediterranean waters more than two thousand kilometers from Ukraine.
- Reports from the coverage say the tanker sustained critical damage and is no longer usable for its intended purpose.
- Kyiv sources state the vessel was empty during the operation, which they say removed significant environmental risk.
- Ukrainian officials frame the ship as part of a sanctions‑evading network that finances Russia’s war, calling the strike lawful under wartime practice.
- Russian opposition journalist Alexander Nevzorov claims GRU General Andrey Averyanov was aboard and killed, a report that remains unverified.