Russian drones struck two foreign-flagged civilian vessels in the Black Sea overnight on Thursday, according to Ukrainian officials, in an attack that underscores the ongoing threat to maritime trade routes and civilian shipping in the region.
Oleksii Kuleba, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration, confirmed that one ship flying the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis and another registered under Panama were hit. The attack left one sailor dead and five injured, with one of the wounded in critical condition. Kuleba described the incident as “yet another proof that Russia is waging a war against freedom of navigation, international trade, and global food security.”
The governor of the Odesa region, Oleh Kiper, reported that the vessels have since resumed movement. The strikes were part of a broader wave of Russian drone attacks across Ukraine, which also targeted infrastructure in the south.
Wider Drone Barrage Across Southern Ukraine
In the Odesa region, a drone strike ignited a fire at a truck parking lot, killing one person and injuring four others. Meanwhile, in the city of Kherson, a separate drone attack hit a minibus, wounding four civilians. The Kherson Regional State Administration identified the injured as a 46-year-old woman and three men aged 67, 46, and 59, all of whom were hospitalised with blast injuries and shrapnel wounds.
In Kharkiv, a guided bomb assault on the Kholodnohirskyi District injured nine people and damaged more than 40 homes, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov. Ukraine’s air force reported that local air defences shot down 79 of the 90 Russian drones launched between Thursday evening and Friday morning.
The attacks come a day after Ukraine launched a massive drone strike on a Moscow oil refinery, with video footage circulating on social media showing a large explosion and fire at the facility. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the strike, calling it “a fully justified response to Russian attacks on our cities and communities.”
This latest escalation highlights the persistent danger to civilian shipping in the Black Sea, a critical corridor for global grain and food exports. The European Union has repeatedly condemned such attacks as violations of international maritime law and threats to global food security. For more on the broader pattern of Russian drone strikes, see our coverage of Russian Drone Barrage Hits Kyiv and Mykolaiv, Sparking Major Fires.
The incident also follows a series of Ukrainian counterstrikes targeting Russian energy infrastructure, including the recent massive drone attack on a Moscow oil refinery. As the war enters its third year, both sides continue to rely heavily on drone warfare, with civilian areas and commercial assets increasingly caught in the crossfire.
European leaders, who have been discussing further military and economic support for Ukraine at recent summits, are likely to view this attack as further evidence of Russia’s disregard for international norms. The EU has already imposed multiple sanctions packages targeting Russia’s energy sector and military capabilities, but the effectiveness of these measures remains a subject of debate among member states.
