Photo: Ukrainian Navy
Russian forces deliberately struck a Turkish-owned cargo vessel that was sailing from Ukraine’s Odesa region to Turkey, injuring crew members, according to the Ukrainian Navy.
“The enemy attacked the dry cargo ship ANT with drones overnight. The vessel, sailing under the flag of Vanuatu and owned by a Turkish company, was traveling from one of the ports in the Odesa region to Turkey carrying cargo,” the Ukrainian Navy said.
The strike hit the vessel’s superstructure, causing a fire onboard. Ukrainian officials said the blaze was quickly contained thanks to coordinated efforts by the Maritime Search and Rescue Service and the Ukrainian Navy.
Two crew members were injured in the attack. They were evacuated from the ship and hospitalized.
“The Russian Federation continues to deliberately create threats to international maritime transportation by attacking civilian infrastructure and commercial vessels,” the Ukrainian Navy added.
Later, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration Oleksii Kuleba stated that Russian forces had attacked three civilian vessels traveling through the maritime corridor during the evening and overnight hours. The Vanuatu-flagged ship was later towed away for repairs.
The incident occurred amid another large-scale Russian drone attack on southern Ukraine. During the same night, a Russian drone reportedly crashed into a residential apartment building in the Romanian border city of Galați, injuring two people.
Romania’s Defense Ministry said the drone was identified as a Russian Geran-2 UAV and noted that its entire explosive payload detonated upon impact.
Shortly before the drone struck the Romanian building, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that around 16 Russian drones were flying toward the city of Reni in the Odesa region, located roughly 21 kilometers from Galați.
