Two Ukrainian drones hit and sank a civilian ship belonging to the Russian state nuclear corporation “Rosatom“ sailing in the Black Sea at night, the company's chief Alexei Likhachev said in a statement today, quoted by Reuters, BTA reported.
All 17 crew members survived the attack on the ship, which was carrying goods such as frozen food and construction materials, Likhachev added.
“Such an attack can only be described as piracy and maritime robbery,“ he said.
In recent weeks, Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks on ships they say are supporting the other's military operations country.
Russian forces struck a fuel depot and oil refinery in the port of Odessa and hit a ship south of the port that was delivering supplies to the Ukrainian army, the Russian Defense Ministry said yesterday, as quoted by Reuters.
Reuters notes that it cannot independently verify the accuracy of this information.
The head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, Oleksandr Ganja, meanwhile, wrote on Telegram that Russian forces had attacked Pavlograd, Ukrinform reported. "The enemy attacked Pavlograd. A fire broke out in a shopping complex," Ganja said. According to preliminary information, one person was injured.