WW3 fears explode after Russian tanker blows up and Putin vows to retaliate

The Russian leader issued a chilling warning following the Ukrainian drone attack in the Mediterranean.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin (Image: Getty)

Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow will retaliate after a Ukrainian drone struck an alleged Russian shadow fleet tanker in the Mediterranean Sea. Drones hit the Oman-flagged Qendil in waters more than 1,243 miles from Ukraine, an official from Kyiv's SBU security service said on Friday (December 19).

The vessel, which was empty at the time of the attack, is said to have been left critically damaged by the blast. Footage shared on social media, which the Express has not been able to verify, showed a large explosion on the deck of the ship.

Putin acknowledged the attack in his annual marathon year-end press conference, saying: “Another of our tankers in the Mediterranean has been attacked.”

The warlord claimed that the strike would not disrupt supplies and that “in the end, [it] will only create an additional threat.”

“A response from our country will follow,” he added, as per The Telegraph.

A Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) source called the attack a “new, unprecedented special operation”.

They said the vessel was empty of cargo at the time, and that the operation caused no environmental threat.

The source didn't reveal how the drones managed to reached the ship, saying only that the operation involved “multi-stage” measures.

Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" is what Western allies of Ukraine say is a covert network of vessels used by the Kremlin to sidestep sanctions slapped on the country's oil exports.

The measures came following the start of Putin's unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The tanker attack came after Ukrainian naval drones hit two tankers in the Black Sea late last month. A third vessel was targeted on December 2 en route to the

Turkish port of Sinop.