All 30 crew of the Arctic Metagaz have been evacuated, Russia's Transport Ministry has said

Ukraine has carried out a drone attack on a Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker in the central Mediterranean off the coast of Malta, the Transport Ministry in Moscow has said.

Kiev has for months been attempting to target Russia-linked shipping both in the Black Sea and beyond, with Moscow accusing Kiev of "terrorism." The attack on the tanker in Mediterranean waters represents a clear escalation in Ukraine's war on Russian shipping.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry confirmed the raid on the Russia-flagged Arctic Metagaz vessel, which had been en route from Murmansk "with cargo processed according to all international rules" when Ukrainian unmanned boats launched from the Libyan coast struck the vessel.

All 30 Russian crew members abandoned the ship and were saved thanks to a rescue operation mounted by Russian and Maltese emergency services.

"We believe the incident to be an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy, a gross violation of the fundamental norms of international maritime law," the ministry said.

It suggested that such "criminal actions" had been committed in part because EU members had turned a blind eye to Ukrainian policies, adding that they "should not remain without assessment by the international community."

The explosions following the impact on the 277-meter Arctic Metagaz in international waters, were visible for some 40 nautical miles, images show.

The strike was apparently the first instance of Ukraine targeting an LNG instead of an oil-laden tanker. While a complete destruction of a gas carrier could produce less long-term environmental impact, an LNG blast would likely result in pool fires with far greater heat radiation than oil blazes - along with the risk of vapor cloud explosions capable of causing casualties at considerably greater distances.

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Ukraine has for months sought to undermine Russia's oil trade. In December 2025, Kiev acknowledged striking the Qendil, a Russia-linked and Omani-flagged oil tanker, in the eastern Mediterranean off Libya's coast. At the time, Euronews cited a Ukrainian intelligence source describing the attack as "an unprecedented special operation."

Kiev's Western backers have also sought to crack down on Russia-linked vessels. In January 2026, the French navy boarded the oil tanker Grinch in the western Mediterranean. In light of the crackdown, Russian officials have accused NATO of seeking to impose an illegal maritime blockade, warning of potential countermeasures.