Ship Carrying LNG Explodes in Ukraine One Day After Zelenskyy Signs US Gas Deal

A Turkish-flagged tanker ship carrying liquified natural gas was reportedly struck by a drone in Izmail, Ukraine, on Monday, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a deal to import US gas through the port city.

The Details: Turkey said the MT Orinda was struck while offloading gas and that all 16 crewmembers on board were evacuated unharmed. Ukraine didn’t comment specifically on the explosion, but regional military administration head Oleh Kiper said Russian drones had attacked the region overnight, damaging port and energy infrastructure in several cities. Izmail is located on the Danube River, and across the way in Romania, the villages of Plauru and Ceatalchioi were ordered to evacuate. 

For Context: Zelenskyy signed a gas deal with the US in Athens on Sunday, accompanied by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle. Under the deal, American gas will be supplied via pipelines from Greece, and until US gas begins in January, Greece will supply Ukraine. In early November, neighboring Hungary struck a deal with the US to purchase $600 million of American gas. Last month, explosions occurred at major Russian-linked oil refineries in Romania and Hungary within hours of each other.

Most Recent Development: On Wednesday, Romania said a drone breached its airspace during a Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure in the Odesa region. Reuters (Center bias) noted Romania “has had Russian drone fragments fall on its territory repeatedly as Moscow attacks Ukrainian port infrastructure across the river Danube from Romania.”

How The Media Covered It: Western and Ukrainian media largely framed Russia as responsible for the explosion. Euronews (Center) and Fox News (Right) both blamed Russia in their headlines. In text, Euronews said the drone attack was “believed” to be Russian, and Fox said it was “suspected.” Associated Press (Left) was more cautious in its reporting, writing that the tanker was struck by a drone and that there was “no immediate Russian comment.” Russian state media agency TASS reported that “blazes broke out” but did not mention a drone strike. AllSides did not find coverage from the Kremlin-funded RT (Lean Right).

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