In Russian social media and on propaganda websites, claims are being circulated about an alleged “illegal terrorist attack by Ukraine on the peaceful vessel Dashan” in the Black Sea. The authors of these posts argue that the tanker, sailing under the flag of the Comoros, was travelling within Ukraine’s exclusive economic zone towards the port terminal of Novorossiysk and therefore, in their view, could not have been a legitimate target. These claims are manipulative, as explained by StopFake.

In reality, the tanker Dashan was not a “peaceful vessel”. It belonged to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet and was used to transport Russian commodities in circumvention of international law and sanctions imposed on Russia’s oil sector. The vessel was subject to sanctions imposed by the European Union, as well as by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland, which in itself undermines claims about its supposedly civilian and neutral status.

According to journalists, the tanker was travelling through Ukraine’s exclusive economic zone at maximum speed with its Automatic Identification System switched off, a characteristic feature of shadow fleet operations. Such vessels are used by Russia to export oil and other resources while bypassing sanctions and effectively form part of the economic infrastructure of the aggressor state.

In an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Kateryna Yaresko, a journalist with the SeaKrime investigative project of the Myrotvorets Center, noted that Russia transports nearly a quarter of its oil exports through the Black Sea. For this reason, she argued, shadow fleet tankers constitute legitimate targets for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and attacks against them cannot be regarded as acts of terrorism. A representative of the Security Service of Ukraine told the outlet Obozrevatel that destroying or damaging such vessels reduces the flow of petrodollars into Russia’s budget and, consequently, diminishes its military potential.

It is also important to emphasize that Russia itself systematically carries out attacks against Ukraine’s civilian and energy infrastructure, causing civilian casualties and widespread destruction of housing. At the same time, the Kremlin routinely attempts to shift responsibility by accusing Ukraine of “terrorism” whenever military facilities, oil refineries, or shadow fleet tankers operating illegally within Ukraine’s economic zone are targeted.