There were explosions in two tankers of Russia’s Shadow Fleet near the Bosphorus Strait of Turkey late on Friday (28 November 2025), after which the ships were burnt to ashes. Regarding this explosion in the Black Sea, Turkey has expressed the possibility of an external attack by missile, drone or any marine vehicle. The names of these two shadow fleet tankers of Russia are Kairos and Virat.

The crew asked for help by shouting ‘mayde-mayde’

A tanker crew member reported the drone attack in an intercepted open-frequency radio distress call. He was talking about unmanned maritime drones. In a video, a crew member can be heard saying, ‘This is Virat. Need help. Drone attack. Mayday.’

“Virata, which was earlier reported to have been attacked by an unmanned aerial vehicle about 35 nautical miles off the Black Sea coast, was attacked again on the morning of November 29,” the Turkish Transport Ministry said on Twitter.

Ukraine took responsibility for the attack

Turkey said, ‘The Russian ship has been attacked by a rocket, mine, missile, drone or any sea ship.’ However, Virat has suffered minor damage and the crew is also healthy. According to the report of news agency AFP, Ukraine has taken responsibility for this attack. All this is happening at a time when there is immense pressure from America to sign the peace deal on Ukraine.

An official of the Security Service of Ukraine said that the joint operation to attack the ships of the Russian Shadow Fleet was carried out by the SBU and the Navy of Ukraine. He said, ‘Looking at the video of the attack, it is clear that both the tankers have suffered serious damage. This will deal a deep blow to Russian oil transportation.

Ukrainians attack two tankers of the Russian shadow fleet.

According to sources, SBU Sea Baby naval drones attacked the two sanctioned oil tankers KAIRO and VIRAT in the Black Sea. It was a joint operation between the SBU’s 13th Main Directorate for Military Counterintelligence… pic.twitter.com/U82scXaM5r

— Jürgen Nauditt (@jurgen_nauditt) November 29, 2025

“The modern Sea Baby naval drone successfully targeted Russian ships,” a source in Ukraine’s SBU security service told AFP. He also shared a video that purportedly showed maritime drones moving towards the two ships, followed by explosions.

What is shadow fleet?

According to the VesselFinder website, Russia has been accused of using the shadow fleet to avoid Western sanctions and continue its oil exports. This fleet has become the lifeblood of Russia’s economy after strict restrictions by Western countries on Russia’s oil and gas exports. The AIS (Automatic Identification System) transponders present on these ships are switched off, due to which their tracking system becomes inactive and they disappear from the radar.

Britain has taken a big decision by further tightening its economic measures against Russia. This time, not only Russia, but some oil companies of India and China have also come under target. The British government has imposed new economic sanctions to stop Russia’s funding of the ongoing war in Ukraine. The most disturbing thing about these sanctions is that it also includes the name of India’s big energy company Nyra Energy, which has been buying huge quantities of crude oil from Russia.

This decision has been taken at a time when the British Prime Minister has recently returned from a tour of India. A few days later, Britain announced these new restrictions. The government says that the purpose of these steps is to weaken Russia’s economic power and to stop its funding for the Ukraine war. British Chancellor Rachel Reeves said that Russia is now gradually exiting the global oil market and Britain will ensure that no country or company can support its oil trade. On the matter, British Chancellor Rachel Reeves said, “We will put pressure on all those companies which are helping Russia.” Whether they are in India or China. There is no place for Russian oil in global markets now.

Reason for ban on Nyara Energy

India’s Nyara Energy is a major private oil refinery company, which purchased oil from Russia at a record level last year. According to reports, in the year 2024, Nyara Energy imported 100 million barrels of Russian crude oil, which was worth about 5 billion dollars (about 41 thousand crore rupees). The British government expressed displeasure that some companies of India and China are strengthening its economy by buying oil from Russia. The government believes that this purchase gives Russia the economic capacity to continue fighting in the Ukraine war, therefore these sanctions imposed on Nyra Energy are part of Britain’s effort to tighten the noose on any economic partner of Russia.

Action against Russian oil companies and tankers also

Britain has imposed sanctions not only on the Indian company but also on two big Russian oil companies and its ‘shadow fleet’. Shadow fleets are ships that transport Russian oil to different countries while avoiding maritime surveillance. According to the government, the number of these ships is about 44 and they carry millions of barrels of oil to global markets every day. Britain says that blacklisting these tankers and companies will make it very difficult for Russia to do international oil trade. These sanctions will affect insurance, payments and port services, which will have a direct impact on Russia’s oil supplies.

Impact on global oil market

This move by Britain has created new uncertainty in the global oil market. If Russia’s supply is restricted, there may be a temporary rise in oil prices. At the same time, Russia can sell oil at a huge discount to retain its old customers, which may also reduce prices in some countries.

UK policy and international response

This step of Britain is being considered a part of a larger geopolitical strategy. The government’s aim is to show that now those doing energy trade with Russia will also have to take responsibility. However, this decision is also raising the possibility of some economic tension between Britain and India, because companies like Nyara Energy play an important role in meeting India’s energy needs. Nevertheless, the British government says that its priority is to weaken Russia’s economic strength and not to spoil relations with other countries.

India will buy American oil

A new chapter is going to open in the trade relations between India and America. Amidst the ongoing trade deal negotiations between the two countries, the Indian government has indicated that it is ready to increase the purchase of American oil and gas. This decision is not only important from the business point of view, but it can also give a new direction to the economic and political cooperation between the two countries.

India’s new policy in oil trade

India has long been trying to strike a balance in its policies regarding energy security. America has been a major energy partner for India. A few years ago, India was importing oil and gas worth about $25 billion from America, but in recent months this figure has come down to $12 to 13 billion.

Also read: Trump Remarks Row: ‘India will not buy oil from Russia’, Congress fires on Trump’s statement, says – ‘PM Modi praises from here, but from there…’