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Wagner-Linked Operatives Found on Russian Oil Tanker Hit by Ukraine in Mediterranean
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Two Russian nationals with ties to the Wagner Group and the GRU (Russian military intelligence) were discovered aboard the Russian oil tanker Qendil, according to a joint investigation by The Dossier Center and Norwegian broadcaster NRK on January 12.
The Qendil, part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet used to circumvent Western oil sanctions, was struck by Ukrainian drones in the Mediterranean Sea in December 2025. The men in question, listed as “security” in crew records, are believed by experts to potentially have been involved in intelligence-gathering operations in European waters.
The two men—Alexander Malakhov and Viktor Alexandrov—boarded the vessel in early September 2025, shortly before it departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga. Neither man is a registered seafarer, with no maritime qualifications listed. Their presence is unusual, as previous voyages of the Qendil did not include armed security, despite its route through high-risk zones such as the Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aden.
Malakhov, born in 1975 in the Volgograd region, is a former member of Russia’s elite 22nd Spetsnaz Brigade, under the command of the GRU. Public records show he later worked in aviation security in Rostov-on-Don, before abruptly leaving his post in late 2023. In early 2024, he traveled from Syria—a country known as a deployment hub for Russian mercenaries—to Russia, although his specific activities remain unclear.
Alexandrov, born in 1965 in Crimea, has a criminal background, including a robbery conviction in the early 2000s. Financial records show years of debt and reliance on payday lenders. He eventually joined the Wagner Group and, according to leaked internal documents, served as a BMP driver in the group’s sixth assault detachment under the callsign “Katso.”
His file indicates he was dismissed in 2019 following an alcohol-fueled incident in Syria, during which he and others allegedly left their base, traveled to Palmyra in a military vehicle, and disarmed Syrian pro-government forces at a checkpoint while intoxicated.
Despite being blacklisted, records show he returned to Wagner’s ranks by 2020, traveling on a military Il-76 transport plane operated by Russia’s Ministry of Defense.
The lack of prior armed escorts aboard the Qendil and the presence of individuals with intelligence and paramilitary backgrounds have led analysts to suspect espionage, rather than protection duties, as the true nature of their mission.
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Ukraine has increasingly targeted the Russian shadow fleet—aging vessels operating under opaque ownership structures to evade sanctions—in both the Black Sea and, for the first time in December, in the Mediterranean.
The incident drew condemnation from Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who warned of “inevitable consequences” but acknowledged the attacks would not disrupt oil flows in the long term.
Earlier, it was reported that Russia carried out another targeted drone attack against civilian maritime vessels near Ukrainian ports.
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