'Barbaric Actions': Moscow Says Ukraine Drone Attack On Russian Tanker 'Will Not Go Unanswered'

Russia has promised to retaliate after the recent marine drone attack on a Russian tanker by Ukraine and stated that there is no justification for such 'barbaric actions'.

Moscow has promised retaliation a day after a Ukrainian sea drone hit a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea, reported the Associated Press. Through the attack, Ukraine hit a major sea port for Russia. Moscow strongly condemned the “terrorist attack” on the civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated as per Associated Press. Zakharova told the news agency that there was “no justification for such barbaric actions” and further said that they “will not go unanswered” and perpetrators will be punished. 

The Black Sea is turning into an important battleground as Kyiv’s naval capabilities continue to grow. On Saturday, a Ukrainian marine drone carrying explosives weakened a Russian fuel tanker overnight near a bridge connecting Russia to Crimea, the report added. Although no one was injured in the attack, the Crimea Bridge and boat service were shut down for hours, according to Russian-installed officials in Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, as per the AP.

However, a Kremlin-installed official in Ukraine’s partially occupied southern Zaporizhzhia region, Vladimir Rogov said that several members of the crew sustained injuries from shattered glass. He also said that the SIG tanker had been transporting oil to Russian forces in Syria, the AP stated in its report.

Ukrainian intelligence said that the drone carrying 450 kg of explosives struck the SIG vessel when it was transporting fuel for the Russian troops in Ukrainian territorial waters.

This attack comes three weeks after Moscow withdrew from the key export agreement which allowed Ukrainian ships to transport millions of tons of grain across the Black Sea for sale in the world markets. In the wake of the withdrawal, Russia carried of repeated strikes on Ukrainian ports including, Odesa.

An earlier strike by Ukraine, on Novorossiysk had halted maritime traffic for a few hours and for the first time in the 18-month-old conflict, a commercial Russian port became the target. The port has a naval base, shipbuilding yards and an oil terminal, and is key for exports, as per AP. It lies about 110 kilometres east of Crimea.

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