Ukrainian special forces announced on Friday that they conducted an operation alongside a Russian rebel group, which reportedly resulted in the destruction of two Russian cargo ships allegedly carrying weapons and military supplies across the Caspian Sea.

The Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SOF) stated that their unit collaborated with the rebel organization “Black Spark” to target the Russian-flagged vessels, Kompozitor Rakhmaninov and Askar-Saridzha, off the coast of Kalmykia, a region in Russia.

According to SOF, the operation led to the destruction of both ships, while “Black Spark” reported that the vessels sustained damage but did not confirm their destruction.

Neither group provided information regarding the timing of the operation or the methods used to execute it.

For more than 18 days, the Kompozitor Rakhmaninov and Askar-Saridzha have not sent any data through the Automatic Identification System (AIS), as noted by the global vessel tracking service, marinetraffic.com.

SOF credited “Black Spark” with supplying “detailed information regarding the ships’ routes and cargo.”

The United States has imposed sanctions on Kompozitor Rakhmaninov and its owner, MG-Flot, for transporting goods between Iran and Russia. The European Union also sanctioned MG-Flot on allegations of shipping Iranian military-related items, including components for drones, across the Caspian Sea.

The Moscow Times has not independently verified the claims made by SOF and Black Spark.

As of now, Russia’s Defense Ministry and other officials have not issued any public comments regarding the alleged operation.