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A Ukrainian security source said naval drones attacked and damaged an oil tanker on Wednesday.
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The tanker was part of Russia's "shadow fleet," which is used to move oil despite sanctions.
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Ukraine has attacked three of these ships in a matter of days as it targets Russia's energy sector.
Ukrainian forces used naval drones packed with explosives to attack an oil tanker identified as part of Russia's "shadow fleet" in the Black Sea on Wednesday, a security source told Business Insider.
The naval drone strike on the tanker, Dashan, marks the third such attack in less than two weeks as Ukraine ramps up its long-range strike campaign against Russia's energy sector, increasingly gunning for ships at sea in addition to land-based oil facilities.
Sea Baby naval drones hit the tanker and caused "critical damage" to the vessel, with early indications indicating that the strike completely disabled the vessel, the source in the Security Service of Ukraine, the country's main internal security agency, revealed on Wednesday.
The SBU source, only authorized to speak anonymously to discuss sensitive military developments, said the Dashan was flying the Comoros flag and moving through Ukraine's exclusive economic zone in the direction of Novorossiysk, a Russian port city and major oil terminal.
Publicly available ship-tracking data last showed the Dashan in the middle of the Black Sea.
The tanker was sailing at maximum speed with its transponder turned off, the security source said. They added that the attack was carried out in cooperation with the Ukrainian navy and shared footage captured by the Sea Baby drones showing multiple hits on the ship.
