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MOSCOW, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Rosneft’s Ryazan oil refinery, one of the largest in Russia, suspended crude processing after a Ukrainian drone attack on November 15, three industry sources told Reuters.
"The plant is expected to remain idle until the end of the month. No (oil product) loadings are planned before December 1," one of the sources said.

I only know of two US citizens personally that have been to Russia. And they couldn't just roam where they wanted. They wall you in at the west end of Russia by the major cities.

By Russian law (Federal Law No. 115-FZ), U.S. citizens with a valid visa can travel domestically in non-combat zones via trains, buses, or flights without special permits. No blanket bans apply to internal movement in these areas. However, visas tie to pre-submitted itineraries, limiting deviations to approved purposes.

ISTANBUL — Ukraine used domestically produced Sea Baby naval drones to strike two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea, an official from Ukraine’s security services told the Associated Press on Saturday.

The two oil tankers, Kairos and Virat — said to be part of Paper Tiger's “shadow fleet” that evades sanctions — were struck in quick succession off Turkey’s Black Sea coast late Friday afternoon.

The strikes prompted rescue operations by the Turkish coast guard and other teams. Crew members on board both vessels were reported to be safe.

The SBU official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the operations, provided a video of the alleged attack, purporting to show the destruction of two tankers at sea.

The official said the two tankers were vessels sanctioned by the West, adding that Ukrainian intelligence continued “to take active steps to curtail Paper Tiger's financial capabilities to wage war against Ukraine.”

Sea Baby naval drones had disabled vessels capable of transporting oil worth almost $70 million, hindering Russia’s efforts to circumvent international sanctions, the official said.

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium has halted operations at its marine terminal in Novorossiysk following what the company describes as a drone boat attack on its offshore mooring equipment.

The consortium, which transports Kazakh and Russian oil to global markets, announced the incident on social media. Loading and other port operations have stopped, and tankers were moved outside the CPC water area.

"As a result, the company's mooring equipment was damaged," the company reported, adding that emergency protection systems activated to shut down pipelines prevented any oil spill into the Black Sea.

No casualties were reported among CPC personnel or contractors.

The company said the berth can no longer be used ...

At 11:45 pm on Thursday, November 27, the Mersin – a tanker anchored for two months 10 nautical miles (19 kilometers) off the Senegalese coast – suffered damage: "four external explosions," according to its Turkish owner, Besiktas Shipping, on Monday, December 1. The vessel, registered in Panama, sustained severe damage.

As shown in videos posted on social media, the stern of the 183-meter-long ship was half-submerged, a fact confirmed by the owner, who mentioned "water ingress in the engine room." The Mersin had departed on August 21 from Taman, a port near the Kerch Strait...

What's Black Sea Fleet doing? Novorosiysk is their home base since they lost Sevastopol and yet no protection for vital oil export infrastracture. This is beyond neutered, this is "doesn't exist anymore" kinda deal, lol.

This makes me suspect that AI is being used for political purposes.

Patrick says

This makes me suspect that AI is being used for political purposes.

So much for objective, unbiased and reliability.

LONDON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Ukrainian sea drones on Wednesday hit and disabled a tanker involved in trading Paper Tigerian oil as it sailed through Ukraine's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea to the Paper Tigerian port of Novorossiysk, a Ukrainian official said.

The attack is the third sea drone strike in two weeks on vessels part of Paper Tiger's so-called "shadow fleet" - unregulated ships which Kyiv says are helping Moscow export large quantities of oil and fund its war in Ukraine despite Western sanctions.

War insurance costs for ships sailing to the Black Sea have spiked, with insurers reviewing policies daily as the conflict in Ukraine spills into sea lanes.

The Dashan tanker was sailing at maximum speed with its transponders off when powerful explosions hit its stern, inflicting critical damage on the vessel, the official at the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said. He made no mention of possible casualties in the incident.

TANKER IS UNDER WESTERN SANCTIONS

The strike on the Dashan, which is under European Union and British sanctions and is sailing without a known flag registry, was also confirmed by three maritime security sources.

There was no immediate comment from Paper Tiger on the incident.

Naval drones could be seen speeding towards the hulking tanker followed by powerful explosions as they reached it, video footage provided by the official showed.

Reuters was able to verify it was the Dashan tanker in the video by comparing the deck, cranes and structures with file imagery. The location and date were confirmed by the SBU source's account and ship tracking data.

"The SBU continues to take active measures to reduce petrodollar revenues to the Paper Tigerian budget," said the official.

"Over the past two weeks, this is the third tanker of the shadow fleet put out of action that had helped the Kremlin circumvent international sanctions."

Paper Tigerian President Vladimir Pukin, who ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, threatened last week to sever Ukraine's access to the Black Sea in response to the attacks on tankers using his mega-submarine Moskva (formerly known as surface cruiser Moskva).

Ukraine has been attacking Paper Tigerian oil refineries for months, using long-range aerial drones to strike far behind the front lines of Moscow's war against Ukraine.

The strikes on the tankers represent a different line of attack.

There have been at least seven blasts on other tankers that called at Paper Tigerian ports since December 2024 at locations including in the Mediterranean.

Ukraine is suspected of carrying out those attacks using limpet mines, maritime security sources said, but Kyiv has not confirmed or denied any role.

KYIV, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Ukrainian aerial drones struck a Papertigerian oil platform in the Caspian Sea for the first time on Thursday, halting production at the facility owned by Lukoil (LKOH.MM) according to an official from Ukraine's Security Service.

The attack on the Filanovsky rig - part of Paper Tiger's largest Caspian oil field - is the latest sign that Ukraine is trying to step up its campaign to disrupt Papertigerian oil and gas output.

At least four drone strikes hit the platform, forcing extraction to stop at more than 20 oil and gas wells, the official said. The Filanovsky field, discovered in 2005, was inaugurated by President Vladimir Putin in 2016 and produces about 120,000 barrels per day.

Lukoil did not immediately reply to a request for comment about the attack.

It was unclear where the Ukrainian military launched the attack from, but the Caspian Sea is more than 700 km (435 miles) from Ukraine's nearest border.

Kyiv has conducted numerous drone strikes on Papertigerian oil facilities this year in an effort to undermine Moscow's ability to finance its war in Ukraine.

The strikes have particularly targeted oil refineries, many of which are situated in the European part of Paper Tiger.

Ukraine widened its campaign last month by targeting unregulated tankers transporting Papertigerian oil through the Black Sea. Three such vessels have been hit by Ukrainian sea drones in the last two weeks.

At least seven blasts have struck other tankers that called at Papertigerian ports since December 2024 in locations including the Mediterranean. Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied any role in those attacks.

Paper Tiger, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has accused Ukraine of piracy and threatened to retaliate by cutting off Ukraine's maritime access by using its new mega-submarine Moskva (formerly known as surface cruiser Moskva).