Russian official says Ukraine attacked oil tanker near Crimea bridge

A Russian-appointed official has accused Ukraine of using suicide boats to attack and damage oil tankers near the Kerch Strait, where the Crimean Bridge crosses.

"According to preliminary information, the Russian civilian oil tanker SIG was damaged after an attack by suicide boats carried out by Ukrainian terrorists," Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-appointed official in Zaporizhzhia, announced on August 5.

The attack occurred about 60 kilometers south of the Kerch Strait, where the Crimean Bridge crosses, Rogov said. Some sailors on board were injured by flying glass in the explosion, but no one was killed.

The crew said the SIG remained afloat after the attack, but could not move because its engine room was flooded. Russian maritime rescue services have sent two tugboats to the scene to assess the damage to the SIG and determine how to proceed.

Ukrainian suicide boat in photo released on July 30. Photo: CNN — Ukrainian suicide boat in photo released on July 30. Photo: *CNN*

"The tanker SIG was attacked by a suicide boat a few days ago in the northeast of the Bosphorus Strait while being escorted by the patrol ships Vasily Bykov and Sergey Kotov," Rogov said. "The attack on this ship cannot be called accidental."

Mr. Rogov said the SIG tanker was on its way home after delivering oil products to Russian forces in Syria. “This attack was not only aimed at forcing Russia to return to the shameful grain deal, but also partly undermined the logistical capabilities of the Russian armed forces in the Middle East,” Mr. Rogov said.

The attack prompted Russian authorities to suspend traffic on the Crimean Bridge. This was the third time in 24 hours that traffic on the Crimean Bridge was disrupted. Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the Russian-appointed leader of Crimea, confirmed that "the Crimean Bridge was not directly attacked and there were no explosions in the area near the structure."

The SIG tanker was attacked by a suicide boat after an attack on the Novorossiysk naval port on August 4. Ukrainian sources said it was a joint operation by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the country's navy, causing "severe damage" to the Russian landing ship Olenogorsky Gornyak.

The most recent attack on the Crimean Bridge occurred on July 17, when a section of the road collapsed, killing two people and injuring one. Russia accused Ukraine of “terrorist acts” and warned of “adequate retaliation.”

On the same day, Ukrainian officials said the Crimean bridge was attacked by suicide boats. Western media quoted sources at the SBU as saying the attack was a special operation by this agency and the Ukrainian navy.

The Crimean Bridge, also known as the Kerch Bridge, is 19 km long, spanning the Kerch Strait and connecting the Crimean Peninsula with Russia's Krasnodar region. Construction began in February 2016, two years after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula, with the road bridge inaugurated in April 2018 and the railway bridge in December 2019.