Ukraine conducted a series of long-range drone strikes in the Caspian Sea on Saturday targeting vessels and other assets that Ukrainian officials described as linked to military cargo transport between Iran and Russia. The operation formed part of a broader set of overnight strikes by Ukrainian forces against targets in multiple regions of Russia.
“We also achieved very strong results with long‑range strikes in the Caspian Sea – including vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran, as well as a warship,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in a statement.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported that its drones struck the Filanovsky offshore oil platform operated by Russia’s Lukoil, the sanctioned cargo vessels Port Olya 2 and Begey, and a Russian Project 12418 Molniya missile boat. The SBU stated that both Port Olya 2 and Begey had been used to transport military cargo between Iran and Russia and were subject to sanctions imposed by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Ukraine.
It further noted that Begey regularly called at Iran’s Amirabad Port, which Ukrainian authorities identified as part of a logistics chain for transferring Iranian-made attack drones to Russia.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, later said in an interview that one of the vessels contained components for drones and missiles and described it as a legitimate military target. “The ship we attacked in the Caspian Sea contained components for drones and missiles that were on their way to Iran – not civilian cargo, as Iran claimed. This is not the first time we have hit such military targets, and of course, we can expect to hit them again. This is a legitimate military target, in our view,” Korniychuk said.
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Ukraine announces it has struck several vessels in the Caspian Sea that were used to transport military cargo between Russia & Iran.
Looks like the cargo ships Port Olya 2 & Begey were hit
Iranian regime propaganda channels now threaten to strike Ukraine with ballistic missiles pic.twitter.com/twamJF2LTz
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) July 25, 2026
Iran’s Foreign Ministry responded by claiming the attack was illegal and hinted at retaliation. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the Ukrainian regime’s attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea in the early hours of Saturday, 25 July, which resulted in an explosion aboard the ship, killing one sailor and injuring another. This act constitutes a violation of Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations and amounts to an act of aggression that could further inflame and expand the ongoing conflict,” they said.
The ministry added that Iran had never intervened in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and called on the United Nations Security Council, European countries, and all UN member states to hold Ukraine accountable. It stated that responsibility for consequences would rest with the Ukrainian leadership and its supporters. Iran also summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran to convey a protest.
The Ukrainian operation took place after a period of sustained United States military activity against Iran. Following the breakdown of a memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran on June 17, which had established a ceasefire and a 60-day window for negotiations, the United States conducted strikes on Iranian targets for 13 consecutive nights.
These strikes followed repeated Iranian ceasefire violations, including attacks on commercial vessels.
President Donald Trump had indicated consideration of further action, stating that he was reviewing a “massive attack” described as larger in scale than previous operations. However, the United States ultimately paused strikes on Saturday afternoon, as Trump stated that Iran would like to resume negations.
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