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A Russian drone struck a commercial vessel carrying rapeseed oil in the Black Sea on October 6, killing one person and injuring seven others, Odesa Regional Military Administration head Oleh Kiper said.
The vessel was sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands. The strike damaged its superstructure, where a fire broke out, according to Kiper.
The incident is the latest reported attack on civilian shipping in the Black Sea amid Russia’s war against Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilian vessels and port infrastructure, warning that such attacks pose risks to commercial navigation and global food supplies.
The attack comes a day after another commercial vessel was hit in the Black Sea. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying corn was struck by Russian drones in Romania’s exclusive economic zone, killing two crew members. Romanian authorities confirmed the deaths but did not independently establish the cause of the fire.
Turkey and the United Nations are preparing a new round of discussions on a possible ceasefire arrangement covering the Black Sea, including security guarantees for commercial shipping, ports and energy infrastructure.
