Kyiv – A new and alarming dimension has been added to the Russia-Ukraine war, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accusing Moscow of using its oil tanker fleet for covert military operations. The Ukrainian leader claimed the ships are being deployed for intelligence gathering and sabotage.
Zelenskyy’s accusation suggests that Russia is leveraging its vast commercial shipping network to support its war effort in clandestine ways. “Russia was using tankers not only to earn money for the war, but also for reconnaissance and even sabotage activities,” he stated, vowing to take action.
He followed up by expressing his belief that a coordinated international effort could neutralize the threat. Working with allies, Zelenskyy said, “It is entirely possible to stop this,” highlighting a focus on collaborative security measures to address this unconventional challenge.
This development unfolded as Russian President Vladimir Putin was busy heralding his army’s progress. In a televised meeting, Putin claimed his forces had seized nearly 5,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory this year and now hold the “complete strategic initiative.”
Putin also used the occasion to issue a grave warning to the United States. He cautioned that supplying Ukraine with Tomahawk long-range missiles would be a catastrophic move, triggering a “qualitatively new stage of escalation” and leading to the complete breakdown of US-Russia relations.