Russia claims US drone incident, Ukraine attacks oil tanker

Russia says it has dealt with a US drone that violated Russian air space, while Ukraine says it has hit a Russian oil ship in a drone attack.

Russia said on Saturday it had scrambled an Su-30 fighter jet to “prevent a violation of the Russian state border” by a US Reaper MQ-9 military drone over the Black Sea.

Incidents involving Russian and Western aircraft have multiplied over the Black Sea and Baltic Sea in recent months, as Moscow pursues its war against Ukraine.

“As the Russian fighter approached, the foreign reconnaissance drone performed a U-turn away from the border,” the Russian defence ministry said.

The ministry said the drone belonged to the US Air Force.

“The Russian aircraft returned safely to its airbase, there was no violation of the border,” it said.

Tensions grew between Moscow and Washington when another US Reaper drone crashed after colliding with a Russian fighter jet over the Black Sea in mid-March.

Moscow said in May it had intercepted four US strategic bombers above the Baltic Sea in two separate incidents in the space of one week.

Russia also said it has intercepted French, German, Polish and British aircraft.

Earlier on Saturday a Ukrainian security source told AFP the embattled nation had carried out a drone strike overnight on a Russian tanker in the Kerch Strait, a day after one of Moscow’s ships was hit in the Black Sea.

It was the latest attack around the Black Sea since Moscow exited a deal last month that had protected Ukrainian grain exports despite the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

“Overnight the (Ukrainian Security Service) SBU blew up the ‘SIG’, a large oil tanker belonging to the Russian Federation that was transporting fuel for Russian troops,” the Ukrainian source said.

The “successful special operation”, which involved a naval drone and explosives, was carried out jointly with the navy in Ukrainian territorial waters, the source said, adding that the ship was “well-loaded with fuel, so the ‘fireworks’ could be seen from afar”.

In a video obtained by AFP purporting to show the attack, a vessel is seen approaching a large ship before the connection cuts off.

The Russian tanker SIG was hit around 11:20pm on Friday (Saturday morning AEST) south of the Kerch Strait, Russia’s Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport said.

The oil and chemical tanker is under US sanctions for supplying jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria who are supporting President Bashar al-Assad.

The SIG suffered a hole at the waterline in the area of the engine room, “presumably as a result of an attack by a marine drone”, the agency said on Telegram. “The ship is afloat.” An oil boom had been placed around the vessel and preparations were under way to patch up the damage, it said.

A Pantsyr S-1 air defence missile system atop the Russian Defence Ministry headquarters in Moscow. Picture: AFP

Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency said there were no casualties, citing the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Novorossiysk.

Traffic on a key bridge across the Kerch Strait linking the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula to Russia’s mainland resumed early on Saturday after a three-hour halt, according to the Russian highways information centre’s Telegram channel.

Crimea has been disrupted by several strikes throughout the war but it has seen more frequent attacks in recent weeks.

Russian forces on Saturday meanwhile downed a drone over the sea near Sevastopol, city governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said.

Ukrainian drone strikes on Crimea in July blew up an ammunition depot and damaged the strategic bridge across the Kerch Strait.

On the front line, Russia said it had captured the settlement of Novoselivske in northeastern Ukraine, where Kyiv said it was confronted with a growing number of attacks.

Footage from the Russian army showed Novoselivske completely destroyed, white smoke billowing over crumbling buildings.

Ukrainian army spokeswoman Ganna Malyar said on Friday that Russian troops were aiming to draw Ukrainian resources to the east, as Ukraine pursues its counter-offensive in the south.

Ukraine began a new counter-offensive in June but it has made only modest progress, its forces contending with well-entrenched Russian defensive positions built up over several months.

With both sides focused on winning on the battlefield, any chance to secure peace looks thin.

Still, Saudi Arabia is hosting talks on the Ukraine war with representatives from nearly 40 countries – including China, India and South Africa – but not Russia.

Ukrainian Presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said the session would “not be easy” given the range of countries represented but “our task is to unite the whole world around Ukraine”.

“I predict that the conversation will not be easy, but the truth is on our side,” Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said in an interview broadcast on Friday.

“We have many disagreements and we have heard many positions, but it is important that we share our principles,” added Mr Yermak, who also heads Kyiv’s delegation to Jeddah.

“Our task is to unite the whole world around Ukraine.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said the meeting would focus on his 10-point peace formula that calls for the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.

It also calls for the restoration of Ukraine’s borders – including the territory of Crimea, annexed by Russia since 2014.

AFP