Ukraines Special Forces Collaborate with Rebels to Target Russian Cargo Ships in the Caspian Sea

Ukrainian special forces announced on Friday that they had conducted an operation alongside a Russian rebel faction, claiming to have destroyed two Russian cargo ships that were allegedly carrying arms and military supplies across the Caspian Sea.

The Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SOF) reported that their unit, in collaboration with the rebel group known as “Black Spark,” targeted the Russian-registered vessels Kompozitor Rakhmaninov and Askar-Saridzha near the coast of the Kalmykia region in Russia.

SOF stated that the operation “led to the destruction” of both ships, while “Black Spark” suggested they were damaged but did not confirm their complete destruction.

Neither of the groups specified when the operation took place or described how it was executed.

According to the global vessel tracking service marinetraffic.com, the Kompozitor Rakhmaninov and Askar-Saridzha have not sent any Automatic Identification System (AIS) data for over 18 days.

SOF acknowledged that Black Spark provided “thorough information regarding the ships’ routes and cargo.”

The United States has imposed sanctions on Kompozitor Rakhmaninov and MG-Flot, the company that owns both vessels, for transporting goods between Iran and Russia. Similarly, the European Union has sanctioned MG-Flot due to allegations of moving Iranian military-related materials, including components for drones, across the Caspian Sea.

The claims made by SOF and Black Spark could not be independently verified by The Moscow Times.

To date, Russia’s Defense Ministry and other officials have not publicly addressed the alleged operation.