Ukraine Drone Damages Russian Oil Tanker

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The Facts

  • A Ukrainian drone attack in the Black Sea damaged a Russian tanker in the Kerch Strait south of the Crimean Bridge, Russian officials claimed on Saturday.

  • Vasyl Malyuk, the head of Ukraine's Security Service, said that "such special operations are conducted in the territorial waters of Ukraine and are completely legal," adding any such explosions are "an absolutely logical and effective step with regard to the enemy."


The Spin

Pro-Ukraine narrative

The sea drone attacks are not only logical and legal but necessary to offset Russia's aggression. Either the targets in Crimea will reduce Russia's fighting capacity or enable future offensives that can bring this awful war to a conclusion.

Pro-Russia narrative

The US shouldn't back Ukrainian strikes against Crimea as it will entail immediate retaliatory strikes. Russian warships will continue to repel and destroy Ukraine's sea drones as they are nothing short of terrorist attacks, as the peninsula is legally part of the Russian Federation.

Nerd narrative

There's a 7% chance that if Kyiv gains more than 50 square km (19.3 square miles) of territory in Crimea, Russia will use nuclear weapons against Ukraine before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.


Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO

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