Ukrainian aerial drones struck a Russian shadow fleet tanker in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, an official at Ukraine's SBU security service told Reuters on Friday (December 19).

A video shared with Reuters by an SBU official showed various explosions on the vessel.

Reuters confirmed the ship seen in the video as the Qendil by the crane, deck and bridge design which matched file imagery of the vessel.

Reuters could not independently verify the location and the date when the video was filmed. However, the ship tracking data puts the last known location of the Qendil in the Mediterranean Sea.

The official said that the drones hit the vessel - the Qendil - in waters more than 2,000 kilometres (1,243 miles) from Ukraine, causing critical damage. The vessel was empty at the time of the attack.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VESSEL ATTACKED BY DRONE/ EXPLOSIONS AND FIRES ON VESSEL

- Crane, deck and bridge design of the ship matched file imagery

- Location and date not independently verified

- Ship tracking data puts the last known location of the ship in the Mediterranean Sea

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: AT SEA (RELEASED ON DECEMBER 19, 2025) (VIDEO SHARED BY UKRAINIAN SECURITY SERVICE OFFICIAL - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF DRONE VIEW SHOTS OF VESSEL

2. VARIOUS OF DRONE VIEW SHOTS OF EXPLOSION ON VESSEL, FIRE

3. VARIOUS OF DRONE VIEW SHOTS OF SHELL FALLING, EXPLOSION ON VESSEL

4. VARIOUS OF DRONE VIEW SHOTS OF EXPLOSION ON VESSEL, FIRE