- Category
- War in Ukraine
Ukraine Strikes Russian Shadow Fleet Tanker WEST Horizon, Disrupting Sanctions Evasion Routes
Prefer U24 Media on Google
- Authors
![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Ukrainian forces have struck the WEST Horizon tanker belonging to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” in the Black Sea, Ukraine’s General Staff reported on June 10.
According to the statement, damage to the vessel’s propulsion and steering system has been confirmed.
We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field.
Military officials said the tanker is used in schemes for transporting oil and petroleum products in circumvention of international sanctions and restrictions imposed on Russia.
As reported by RBC-Ukraine, WEST Horizon is a chemical tanker with a deadweight exceeding 50,000 tons. It is subject to sanctions from the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and Australia due to its involvement in the transport of Russian oil in breach of international restrictions.
The vessel is associated with the Turkish company Beks, which is part of the business interests of Turkish entrepreneur Ali Bekmezci.
According to the outlet, the ship has previously called at several Russian ports, including Novorossiysk, Tuapse, and Saint Petersburg, and has on multiple occasions deactivated its AIS transponder, apparently to obscure its movements.
Additionally, on June 10, a Ukrainian FP-5 “Flamingo” cruise missile struck the VNIIR-Progress defense electronics plant in the Russian city of Cheboksary in the Chuvash Republic.
The facility is known for manufacturing navigation and antenna systems used across a range of Russian military platforms, including drones, missiles, and guided aerial bombs.
-859c7c905f8e3835fada77da1a9c25f7.png)
The VNIIR-Progress plant, located roughly 1,000 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, produces satellite navigation receivers and antenna systems compatible with GLONASS, GPS, and Galileo systems.
According to Ukraine’s General Staff, the enterprise manufactures Kometa-series navigation modules used in Shahed-type attack drones, Iskander-M ballistic missiles, Kalibr cruise missiles, and UMPK guidance kits for aerial bombs.
Later, Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed the attack on the VNIIR-Progress plant in Cheboksary was conducted by Missile Forces and Artillery units of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, which used FP-5 “Flamingo” cruise missiles.
The strike on the tanker and defense facility was accompanied by broader alerts across multiple Russian regions. A missile alert was issued in Russia’s Omsk region for the first time since the beginning of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Residents of the region received the warning at 10:28 a.m. local time via SMS messages sent to mobile phones. Local television broadcasters also interrupted their programming to relay information about a general air raid alert across the region.
Discuss this article:
-29a1a43aba23f9bb779a1ac8b98d2121.jpeg "Photo of Illia Kabachynskyi")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")