Ukrainian forces operating from western Libya attacked a Russian-flagged liquefied natural gas tanker in the Mediterranean in early March, according to two Libyan officials who spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday. The officials said the strikes were carried out using Libya’s territory and attributed the assault to Ukrainian forces operating under what they described as a covert arrangement endorsed by Western backing.
The Arctic Metagaz, flying the Russian flag and carrying 61,000 tons of LNG, was badly damaged in a suspected sea drone attack near Maltese waters early in March, the officials said. They said the tanker later drifted off Libya. The Libyan Maritime Authority said all 30 crew members were rescued and placed on another vessel bound for the Libyan city of Benghazi.
At the time of the attack, the Libyan Maritime Authority said the tanker experienced “sudden explosions, followed by a massive fire,” while it was about 240 kilometers (150 miles) off the Libyan city of Sirte. A Libyan government body also mistakenly reported that the tanker had sunk, according to AP reporting included in the account.
The officials described the broader setting for the incident as part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to transport oil in violation of international sanctions tied to Russia’s more than four-year invasion of Ukraine. They also pointed to a recent temporary U.S. waiver on those sanctions, saying it was aimed at easing supply shortages amid the Iran war.
Russia blamed the attack on Ukrainian sea drones, while Ukraine said the oil export revenue is helping fund Moscow’s invasion. Neither Russian nor Ukrainian officials made immediate comment on the Libya-based claims, and the government in Tripoli did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The two Libyan officials said Ukrainian forces—mostly drone experts—operated primarily from an air base in Misrata, with activity also in other military facilities in the capital Tripoli and the coastal town of Zawiya. One official said the March 3 drone strike that hit the tanker was launched by Ukrainian operatives from a military facility in Tripoli, and they spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter involved confidential details.
The officials further said Ukrainian forces were gradually deployed in western Libya over recent months under what one of them called a “covert deal” between Kyiv and the government of Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, which is based in Tripoli. They said Western backing included the United States, and they cited Massad Boulos, described as the U.S. adviser for African affairs, as having drafted a proposal to address Libya’s long-running conflict while keeping Dbeibah as prime minister.
Boulos’ proposal, the officials said, also includes appointing Saddam Hifter—described as the son of Khalifa Hifter—as head of a presidential council. The officials said Saddam Hifter is the chief of staff of the self-styled Libyan National Army that controls eastern and southern Libya, including major oil fields.
Libya has been divided for more than a decade between a U.N.-supported administration in Tripoli, led by Dbeibah, and a rival administration loyal to Khalifa Hifter in the east. The officials said Dbeibah’s mandate expired when Libya failed to hold its first presidential election during his watch in December 2021, and they described his subsequent efforts to form a new government and steer the country through elections, along with his warning that replacing him could trigger war.
A Libya analyst, Jalel Harchaoui of the Royal United Services Institute, suggested the presence of Ukrainian forces in western Libya could be tied to NATO’s efforts to keep the area “out of Russia’s reach.” Harchaoui said it was “entirely plausible” that, with knowledge and blessing of NATO powers—chiefly the United States, and also the United Kingdom and Turkey—small groups of Ukrainian operatives maintained a presence around greater Tripoli.
The account also described how the tanker continued to move after the attack. It said winds and currents pushed the Arctic Metagaz toward the Libyan coast, citing the World Wide Fund for Nature’s description of the drift. In recent weeks, Libyan authorities attempted to tow the tanker to a “safe zone” off the country’s western coast, but their efforts failed because of “harsh” weather conditions, strong winds and the tanker drifting “out of control.”
The AP reporting placed the incident within a wider pattern of drone-enabled strikes associated with the Russia-Ukraine war. It said Ukraine has used drone technology to hit ships in the Black Sea, and that those attacks prompted Russia to adapt and limited opportunities for further Black Sea strikes, pushing Ukrainian experts to consider more ambitious attacks.