ODESA – Russian drones hit two ships in the Black Sea approaching ports in Ukraine’s Odesa region on May 18, including a Chinese-owned cargo vessel, the Ukrainian authorities said, after a night of Russian attacks on the area.
Ukraine’s seaports authority said that the strikes had hit two civilian vessels, one under the Marshall Islands flag and another under the Guinea-Bissau flag, both of which were heading to ports in the region.
The Ukrainian navy reported a strike on the Ksl Deyang, which it described as a Chinese-owned cargo ship sailed by Chinese crew under the Marshall Islands flag. It posted a photo of the ship showing its name, with one of its sides partially charred.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media platform X that a Russian drone had hit a vessel owned by China. Russia had attacked the nearby Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa with drones overnight, Ukrainian officials said.
A source told Reuters that the Deyang was without cargo at the time of the attack early on May 18, and heading to load iron ore concentrate in Ukraine’s Pivdennyi port in the Odesa region.
The vessel did not sustain significant damage, there were no casualties and the fire caused by the strike was extinguished by the crew, the source added.
Russia has repeatedly targeted maritime export routes more than four years after its invasion of Ukraine, striking ports vital to foreign trade and the wartime economy. REUTERS
