Libération: Ukraine Tracks the Russian Ghost Fleet to the Mediterranean Sea

The newspaper Libération reported that Ukraine has revealed a qualitative escalation in targeting Russian maritime interests after it announced for the first time its responsibility for attacking one of the Russian "ghost fleet" ships in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

The newspaper, in a report by Laurence Defrano, explained that the oil tanker "Qandil," subject to European sanctions, was attacked by a drone off the Greek coast while returning from a voyage transporting Russian oil to India, about 2,000 kilometers from Ukrainian territory.

This development, according to the newspaper, comes in the context of the ongoing war for nearly four years, at a time when Moscow relies on a wide network of old and unsecured ships, known as the "ghost fleet," to circumvent Western sanctions and continue exporting oil to countries such as China and India.

European reports indicate that these ships are not only used in energy trade but also in transporting looted Ukrainian weapons and property, and even in carrying out secret military activities, including using some as platforms for launching drones, according to the French newspaper.

These risks have prompted the European Union to expand its blacklist to include about 600 ships banned from entering its ports, amid growing concern among Baltic Sea countries about the increasing militarization of navigation and the presence of unofficial armed personnel on Russian ships.

Indeed, Finnish border guards have detected 31 ghost oil tankers, and last week the Swedish navy confirmed that men in military uniforms and armed, without official status, have been frequently found on these ships. Danish authorities have identified among them a former commander in the Russian special forces.

On the other hand, the "ghost fleet" has become a global environmental and security concern, especially for the maritime navigation sector, which has observed a noticeable increase in the level of conflict at sea and a rise in incidents and potential damages in the seas.

In this context, Ukraine affirms that Russian economic and energy assets have become legitimate targets as part of its effort to demonstrate its ability to strike Russian interests wherever they are found.

The attack on "Qandil," according to the newspaper, in addition to previous attacks using maritime drones in the Black Sea, reflects the widening scope of the naval confrontation between the two sides, signaling further tension and escalation in international maritime routes.