Russian Tankers Have Started Hiding Off The Coast Of Turkey

Fearing Ukraine's maritime drones.

Russian tankers of the "shadow fleet" have started hiding off the coast of Turkey when sailing in the Black Sea, fearing attacks by Ukrainian unmanned boats.

This is what "Militarny" writes with reference to maritime traffic analysts and data from OSINT projects. According to "Militarny", the tanker STRATEG under the Russian flag, which is under sanctions of the USA, the European Union, Ukraine, Great Britain and some other countries, in the Black Sea tried to move as close as possible near the coast of Turkey. Turkey is a NATO member.

The map shows that STRATEG left Novorossiysk, Russia, and then moved along the coast, first near Sochi, then off the coast of Georgia, and then off the coast of Turkey, until it passed the Bosporus strait between Europe and Asia Minor.

The conclusion is thus that tankers of Russia's "shadow fleet" have changed their tactics in the Black Sea after Ukrainian naval drones began attacking them. They now tend to sail closer to the Turkish coast, hoping that this will save them from maritime drone attacks.

Remember, in December 2025, Kiev for the first time publicly admitted that it was attacking Russian "shadow fleet" tankers because they were circumventing sanctions and funding Russia's war against Ukraine.

In November-December 2025, Ukrainian drones attacked four oil tankers linked to Russia's "shadow fleet." Three vessels were attacked by maritime drones in the Black Sea and another by UAVs in the Mediterranean Sea.

According to the SBU, all the attacked tankers were heading to Russian ports to load with oil. The Ukrainian armed forces continue such operations to reduce the Kremlin's ability to finance the war.

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