Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking LNG carrier in Mediterranean

"We qualify what happened as an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy, a gross violation of the fundamental norms of international maritime law," the ministry said in a statement.

It said the vessel, which had been carrying a cargo from the Russian Arctic port of Murmansk, was attacked near international waters belonging to Malta and thanked Maltese rescue services. Ukrainian naval drones had launched their attack from the coast of Libya, the ministry said.

The vessel's Russia-based manager SMP Techmanagement and Russia's largest LNG producer Novatek have not yet commented on the incident.

(Reporting by Filipp Lebedev and Vladimir Soldatkin Editing by Andrew Osborn and Bernadette Baum)