Ukrainians from Crimea found in tanker seized by Americans: details of connections

Ukrainians from Crimea were found aboard a Russian tanker seized by the US military. The Embassy of Ukraine appealed to the United States to obtain consular access and control the situation.

This was reported by Channel 24.

As noted in the publication, on January 7, 2026, the US military detained the Russian tanker Marinera for violating sanctions. It was reported that there were Ukrainian citizens on board.

The Ukrainian Embassy appealed to the U.S. Department of State to clarify the circumstances and provide consular access to the Ukrainians held on the tanker.

At the same time, Ukrainian Volunteer Army spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk explained that the operation is connected with the Russian Federation's shadow fleet, which is active in Crimea, and that the detained Ukrainians were found to be from the peninsula.

The embassy emphasized that they are monitoring the situation and are in constant contact with the American side. The vessel allegedly carried 20 Ukrainians, 6 Georgian citizens and 2 Russians, but the Ukrainian side has not yet confirmed this information.

According to Radio. Svoboda, in late December, the US Coast Guard tried to detain the Panamanian-flagged tanker Bella 1 (Marinera) in the Caribbean Sea, which Washington said was headed for Venezuela. The vessel was sanctioned for transporting sanctioned oil. The crew refused to comply with the military's demands and later drew a Russian flag on board. The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia sent a submarine and other warships to escort the tanker.

The tanker was seized on January 7 in the afternoon between Iceland and the British Isles - a US helicopter landed on board.

It turned out that the tanker Bella 1 (Marinera) is connected to the Kremlin's longtime allies: former Odesa City Council deputy Viktor Baransky, who belonged to Viktor Medvedchuk's orbit, and Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, who fled to Moscow after being accused of stealing a billion dollars from Moldova's banking system and was granted Russian citizenship.

Back in 2021, entities associated with Baranski were sanctioned by the United States for transporting Venezuelan oil. After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he lost his Ukrainian citizenship and moved to Russia.

Recently, the oil tanker Elbus was attacked by an unmanned aerial vehicle in the Black Sea off the Turkish coast. The Palauan-flagged vessel was damaged, but the crew was not injured.

Анна Бальчінос