Ukraine denies involvement in attack on Russian tanker Midvolga 2 in Black Sea
Photo: Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine has rejected accusations of involvement in the attack on the Midvolga 2 tanker, which was sailing from Russia to Georgia under the Russian flag with its crew on board, according to Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi.
"Ukraine has nothing to do with this incident, and we officially refute any allegations of such kind made by Russian propaganda," the spokesperson said.
Tykhyi suggested that Russia may have staged the attack, noting that the vessel's route made no sense.
"Furthermore, the alleged route from Russia to Georgia across Türkiye's EEZ makes no sense—and suggests that Russia may have staged the whole thing," the statement said.
What happened earlier
On December 2, a small tanker, Midvolga 2, carrying sunflower oil from Russia to Georgia, came under attack in the Black Sea, around 80 miles off Türkiye's northern coast.
According to the Türkiye's Ministry of Transport, the vessel was attacked in the morning.
There were 13 crew members on board, but none were injured. According to the Equasis maritime database, the vessel is owned by Moscow-based company Mazk Management.
According to media reports, this is already the fourth Russia-linked tanker targeted in the Black Sea in the past week.
Attacks on Russian tankers
Earlier, on November 28, two tankers from Russia's so-called shadow fleet caught fire in the Black Sea near the Bosporus Strait.
Reports said that an explosion occurred on the vessel Kairos, sparking a fire while it was sailing from Egypt to Russia's port of Novorossiysk.
Another tanker, Virat, sustained damage about 35 nautical miles off the Turkish coast.
On November 29, RBC-Ukraine sources reported that the SBU's Sea Baby maritime drones successfully struck both sanctioned tankers, Kairos and Virat, which are part of Russia's shadow fleet.
