Ukraine has carried out its first strike on a Russian offshore oil platform in the Caspian Sea, forcing the suspension of production at one of Moscow’s key energy sites.

According to sources within Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), four drones hit the Vladimir Filanovsky platform on 11 December, stopping oil and gas output from more than 20 wells at the facility.

The operation was conducted by the SBU’s “Alpha” special operations unit. An SBU source, speaking anonymously, said that at least four impacts were confirmed on the platform and that production ceased as a direct consequence.

The Filanovsky field, situated in the northern Caspian Sea, is Russia’s largest offshore oil field and one of its most significant post-Soviet energy discoveries.

The site, discovered by Lukoil in 2005 and launched in 2016, produces roughly 120,000 barrels per day and contains estimated reserves of 129 million tonnes of oil and 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas.

These volumes are transported through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, a major route linking Kazakhstan and global markets. Lukoil has not responded to requests for comment on the incident.

The Caspian Sea is more than 700 kilometres from Ukraine’s nearest border, showing how far Kyiv’s home-built long-range drones can reach. This is also the first confirmed Ukrainian strike on oil and gas production infrastructure in the Caspian region.

Ukraine has intensified its campaign against Russian energy facilities throughout the year, aiming to limit Moscow’s ability to fund its full-scale invasion launched in February 2022.

Previous strikes have mainly focused on refineries and fuel storage sites located deep inside Russian territory, many of them in the European part of the country.

Over recent weeks, Ukrainian sea drones have hit three unregulated tankers transporting Russian oil through the Black Sea, and at least seven other tankers that had called at Russian ports have been struck since December 2024 in areas including the Mediterranean. Ukraine has not publicly acknowledged responsibility for those particular incidents.

Russia has accused Ukraine of engaging in piracy and has threatened to restrict Ukraine’s maritime access in response to the attacks on tankers.

Moscow has not issued a statement on the reported Caspian Sea strike but said on 11 December that its forces had shot down 287 Ukrainian drones overnight, including several it claimed were heading towards Moscow.

References: Reuters, kyivindependent