Ukrainian Special Operations Forces says it struck two Russian military-linked ships in the Caspian Sea near Kalmykia, according to Ukraine’s SSO on 12 December 2025. The targeted vessels were reportedly transporting weapons and military equipment and had been previously sanctioned by the US for their role in Russia-Iran arms transfers.
Ukrainian special forces strike two sanctioned Russian ships in Caspian Sea
Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SSO) said they carried out a joint operation with the insurgent group Chornaya Iskra ("Black Spark”), targeting two Russian vessels close to Russia's Kalmykia coast. The ships were identified as the Kompozitor Rakhmaninov and Askar Sarydzha. Both had been sanctioned by the US for their involvement in transporting military cargo between Iran and Russia. The Caspian Sea is more than 800 km from the frontline in Ukraine.
According to the SSO, the insurgent group provided precise details about the ships’ routes and their cargo before the operation. SOF says at the unspecified time of the attack, the ships were transporting weapons and military equipment.
The SSO emphasized that it continues to carry out asymmetric actions aimed at disrupting the offensive capacity of the Russian military.
According to tracking data, the Askar Sarydzha was on its way from Iran's Nadar Noshahr to an unknown destination 18 days ago — usually the ship shuttles between Iran and the Astrakhan port in the north of the Caspian Sea. Meanwhile, the Kompozitor Rakhmaninov left Baku, Azerbaijan, days ago.
Iran supplies Russia with long-range drones, which Russia uses in its daily attacks against Ukrainian cities.
Other attacks in the Caspian
A day earlier, Ukrainian media, citing a Security Service source, reported that long-range drones from the SBU's Alpha special operations center struck the Filanovskyi oil production platform, owned by Lukoil-Nizhnevolzhskneft. This marked the first reported Ukrainian strike on a Russian offshore oil field. Previously, Ukrainian attacks on fuel infrastructure had only targeted refineries, pipelines, depots, sea terminals, and, more recently, tankers in the shadow fleet.
In November 2024, Ukrainian drones struck the Russian Caspian Fleet's base for the first time.
