Ukraine destroys 49 of Russia’s shadow fleet ships in crippling strikes

Ukrainian strikes have crippled the shadow fleet and oil depots in Russia(Picture: east2west)

Vladimir Putin’s shadow fleet was rocked by 14 new attacks today as the chaos at Russia’s petrol stations deepens. 

This brings the total to 49 the vessels lost this week – almost all of them oil tankers supplying fuel to Crimea and other Ukrainian territory annexed by the Kremlin. 

The crisis is now ‘catastrophic,’ with the Kremlin scrambling to hide the consequences,one report warned. 

In more bad news for Vladimir Putin,Ukraine also staged crippling overnight strikes on Taganrog port,triggering an inferno at the Kurgannefteprodukt oil depot and an emergency evacuation of residents. 

Meanwhile,queues for petrol are growing and prices escalating,even in faraway Siberia,as Putin refuses to halt the war or give up his aim of grabbing the entire Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. 

Putin’s shadow fleet helps transport sanctioned oil (Picture: Getty)

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Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.Independent Russian news outlet Meduza analysed oil trading data and concluded: ‘The situation with fuel after the Ukrainian drone attacks appears to be simply catastrophic.‘The authorities are trying to keep information about the extent of the damage to Russian oil refineries secret. ‘Under these circumstances,the fuel shortage can be indirectly assessed,for example,by analysing exchange trading data. We have studied this data. The picture resembles a collapse.’Even before the latest strikes,the volume of trading fell to 53% of the January level,while the price rose to 146%.Footage also highlighted Ukrainian kamikaze drones targeting military trucks filled with Russian occupiers in the rear areas of the Luhansk region.Russia,the world’s second-largest oil producer,is now seeking to import supplies due to the carnage caused by Ukrainian dronesRussia also faces damage to its harvest,with grain lost due to chronic diesel shortages. ‘The 2026 harvest season is turning into a nightmare for Russian farmers,who are facing a shortage of diesel fuel,restrictions on its sale,and rising prices,’ the Moscow Times reported.‘The shortage of diesel fuel for combine harvesters and other equipment is particularly acute in key southern regions.’Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .For more stories like this,check our news page.