Top Putin normal linked to Salisbury poisonings ‘was blown up in Ukraine drone strike on Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker within the Mediterranean

A top Putin general linked to the Salisbury poisonings has been killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker in the Mediterranean, according to reports.

General Andrey Averyanov, head of the Covert Operations Unit that orchestrated the 2018 Salisbury poisonings, is believed to have been on board the Russian tanker that was blown up by Ukrainian drones on Friday.

Averyanov is linked to some of Russia’s most notorious covert operations abroad, including the assassination of Yevgeny Prigozhin in 2023 and a deadly explosion in the Czech Republic in 2014. 

A report on a pro-Ukraine platform said: ‘According to preliminary (unconfirmed) data, General of the GRU Andrey Averyanov, along with several of his deputies, was already eliminated with the ship.’

Ukrainian reports also stated that Averyanov frequently travelled across Europe on Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers for his covert operations, the Sun reported. 

He is believed to have been among other senior Moscow officials on board the tanker.  

On Friday, Ukraine struck a Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker with drones in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time. 

The cargo ship was sailing in an undisclosed location around 1,243 miles from Ukraine’s borders when it was hit in a ‘new, unprecedented special operation’, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine said.

Andrey Averyanov (pictured) was a top Putin general linked to various covert operations overseas, including the Salisbury poisonings in 2018 and the assassination of Yevgeny Prigozhin

The attack on the Russian tanker, called Qendil, was the first of its kind by Ukraine in the Mediterranean  

The source claimed that the tanker, called the Qendil, had ‘sustained critical damage and cannot be used for its intended purpose’. 

The explosive attack on the empty vessel was the first of its kind in the Mediterranean and a dramatic development in the near four-year war between Russia and Ukraine. 

Ukrainian news agency RBC-Ukraine published black and white footage, purportedly showing the tanker being struck with explosives. 

The attack was announced by Kyiv while Vladimir Putin was taking part in his marathon end-of-year news conference and will be interpreted as a major embarrassment for the Russian President. 

Estimated to include up to 1,000 ships, which frequently change their flags and whose ownership is unclear, Russia’s shadow fleet enabled Moscow to keep exporting its crude oil for much-needed revenue despite curbs on exports.

Experts and several European leaders also believe some vessels have been used by Russia to conduct hybrid warfare across the continent. 

Averyanov was head of Russia’s GRU Unit 29155, which carries out foreign operations ordered by Putin and has been linked to many assassinations, including the Salisbury poisonings in March 2018.

Wiltshire was rocked when Kremlin spies allegedly attempted to murder former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, 68, in Salisbury. 

Military personnel wearing protective suits during investigations into the poisoning of Sergei Skripal on March 11, 2018 in Salisbury

44-year-old Dawn Sturgess (left) was killed after being poisoned by Novichok, which was on  perfume bottled gifted to her by her partner Charlie Rowley, 45 (right)

Both he and his then 33-year-old daughter Yulia were rushed to hospital in critical condition after coming into contact with Novichok – a deadly nerve agent concocted by Soviet scientists during the Cold War. 

While they both survived the suspected attempted murder, four months later British national Dawn Sturgess, 44, was killed after coming into contact with the perfume bottle containing a deadly nerve agent. 

It is also alleged that General Averyanov’s unit was also ordered by Putin in 2015 to stage a coup in Montenegro, which failed, according to intelligence sources who also blame the unit for a campaign to destabilise Moldova and the poisoning of Bulgarian arms dealer Emilian Gebrev in 2015.  

In response to the Ukrainian drone attack, Russia launched missiles on a port near Odessa in Ukraine on Friday evening, killing seven and injuring 15.

Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on Telegram: ‘In the late evening, Russia ‍attacked ‍port infrastructure in Odesa region with ballistic missiles.

‘According to preliminary ⁠information, seven people were killed. About 15 were injured ‍and are ⁠receiving help.’