Former GRU and Wagner PMC fighters worked on the Qendil tanker.
On the tanker Qendil in the Mediterranean Sea in December 2025, there were Russians with a combat background in the GRU special forces and the Wagner PMC.
Formally, they were registered as security guards on the crew, but their real role, according to experts, could have gone far beyond protecting the ship.
Court documents indicate that one of them was 49-year-old Alexander Malakhov from the Volgograd region, a former serviceman of the 22nd Separate Guards Special Forces Brigade of the GRU. The second was 59-year-old Viktor Alexandrov, a native of Crimea, whose name is directly linked to the Wagner organization.
Experts emphasize that the Kremlin is increasingly using vessels of the so-called “shadow fleet” not only to evade sanctions but also for covert reconnaissance. Dangerous sea routes are becoming a convenient cover—if exposed, Moscow can deny any involvement, attributing it to “civilian shipping.”
