Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of carrying out a terrorist attack against one of the Russian liquefied natural gas vessels that exploded in flames and sank in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya.
The Arctic Metagaz had been sanctioned by the United States and the EU for being part of Moscow’s “shadow fleet” of aging tankers that transport its oil and gas around the world, circumventing Western restrictions.
The Libyan Maritime Authority reported “sudden explosions, followed by a massive fire” on the ship on Tuesday, when it was about 150 miles (240 kilometers) from the city of Sirte.
The tanker, carrying 61,000 tonnes of LNG, “completely sank” between Libya and Malta, according to a statement. The 30 crew members were rescued and put on another ship heading to the Libyan city of Benghazi, he said.
“This is a terrorist attack. This is not the first time we have seen this kind of thing,” Putin told Russian state television on Wednesday night, accusing Ukraine of being responsible.
He said the incident was an attack that “exacerbates the situation in global energy markets, including gas markets.”
Russia’s Transport Ministry had previously said the ship had been hit by Ukrainian maritime drones launched from the Libyan coast, but did not provide details.
Ukraine has not commented on the incident but said in December it had attacked a Russian oil tanker in the Mediterranean with aerial drones in the first confirmed such attack in the four years of war.
Previous Ukrainian attacks on Russian ships in the Mediterranean reportedly came from the Libyan coast, but these have not been publicly confirmed by kyiv.
Ukraine’s military has said in the past that it used marine drones to sink Russian ships in the Black Sea.
Ukraine’s state security service in October unveiled an improved marine drone called Sea Baby, which it said had a range of 930 miles and could carry a weapon weighing up to two tons.
The Metagaz had set sail from the northwestern Russian city of Murmansk in the Barents Sea and was heading to Port Said in Egypt, the Libyan Maritime Authority said. Its last reported position was in the western Mediterranean off the coast of Malta, according to MarineTraffic, a ship tracking platform.
Putin also suggested on Wednesday that Russia could stop supplying gas to Europe and move to other markets.
The European Commission will present a legal proposal to permanently ban Russian oil imports on April 15, three days after Hungary’s parliamentary elections, according to EU officials and a document seen by Reuters.
“And now other markets are opening up,” Putin said. “And perhaps it would be more profitable for us to stop supplying the European market right now, enter the markets that are opening up and establish ourselves there.
“But this is not a decision, it is, in this case, what is called thinking out loud. I will definitely order the government to work on this issue together with our companies.”
