Ukraine hits Russian oil rig in Caspian Sea for first time, official says
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The attack on the Filanovsky rig - more than 700km from Ukraine’s nearest border - halted production at the facility.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Ukrainian drones hit a Russian Lukoil oil platform in the Caspian Sea on December 11, halting output from over 20 wells.
- The attack on the Filanovsky rig, 700km from Ukraine, is part of Kyiv's effort to disrupt Russian oil and gas production to undermine Moscow's war funding.
- Ukraine has expanded attacks on Russian oil facilities, including refineries and "shadow fleet" tankers, though Kyiv hasn't confirmed involvement in all incidents.
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KYIV - Ukrainian aerial drones struck a Russian oil platform in the Caspian Sea for the first time on Dec 11, halting production at the facility owned by Lukoil, according to an official from Ukraine’s Security Service.
The attack on the Filanovsky rig - part of Russia's largest Caspian oil field - is the latest sign that Ukraine is trying to step up its campaign to disrupt Russian 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 700km from Ukraine’s nearest border.
Kyiv has conducted numerous drone strikes on Russian oil facilities
The strikes have particularly targeted oil refineries,
Ukraine widened its campaign in November by targeting unregulated, so-called “shadow fleet” tankers
Three such vessels have been hit
At least seven blasts have struck other tankers that called at Russian ports since December 2024 in locations including the Mediterranean. Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied any role in those attacks.
Russia, 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 in response to attacks on tankers. REUTERS
