Russian forces carried out nighttime attacks on targets in Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said today, quoted by Reuters, BTA reported.
The ministry said Russian forces hit a cargo ship in the port of Chernomorsk, which was used to supply Ukrainian forces, a missile and artillery weapons warehouse in the village of Ilyichanka, and port infrastructure in the port of Izmail, used to unload and store military cargo.
The Defense Ministry also said Russia also hit data centers in several major Ukrainian cities overnight, Russian news agency RIA reported.
At least one person was killed and another was wounded in a Russian drone attack on merchant ship owned by Turkey in the Black Sea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced yesterday, quoted by Reuters, writes BTA.
"A terrifying strike by two Russian drones against a merchant ship in neutral waters, carrying corn owned by Turkey. On board were citizens of Azerbaijan and India", he wrote in Ex. "At the moment, unfortunately, we know that the captain of the ship has died. The fate of another person is still being clarified. Eleven crew members were rescued, one of them is injured", Zelensky said.
Zelensky stressed that Ukraine has repeatedly proposed specific measures to de-escalate and ensure security in the Black Sea, adding that there have also been relevant proposals from third countries, Ukrinform notes.
This morning it became clear that two ships were hit in the Bulgarian economic zone of the Black Sea. It has not yet been announced who is responsible for the attack.
Two ships were attacked by drones in the Black Sea in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone. One of them sank, and the sailors from the other will be transported to hospitals in Varna. The incident occurred at around 3 a.m. this morning. The first signal was sent by an emergency buoy. Contact was immediately established with the crew of the motor ship ABLE, on board of which a serious fire broke out, BNT reported.
All 18 sailors were rescued, one of them was seriously burned, another had a head injury, and there were also minor injuries. Initially, they were taken aboard the Bulgarian-flagged ro-ro/passenger ship DIOSCURIA. They were later taken aboard a Navy cutter and a Border Police ship. The sailors are traveling to Varna, they are expected to arrive in 12 hours.
The ship ALFA WATAN has suffered critical structural damage and has sunk east of the Bulgarian coast. No sailors from the crew have been found. According to preliminary data on the website Maritime.bg, the attacked merchant ships are for general cargo - ALFA WATAN sails under the flag of Togo, ABLE - under the flag of Palau. In connection with the incident, Prime Minister Rumen Radev convenes a meeting with representatives of the institutions.