Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned a 'horrific' Russian attack on a vessel carrying corn in the Black Sea.
The ship’s captain was killed in the strike involving two drones, and another sailor was unaccounted for. Eleven crew members – nationals of Azerbaijan and India – have been rescued.
Romania said it mounted a rescue mission after a fire broke out on the ship “Royad Mammadov” outside its territorial waters. Two people died, while eleven crew members were saved.
Russia has not commented, but its defence ministry earlier claimed it had struck two cargo vessels. Russian forces justify these attacks as retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries and maritime assets.
Monday’s strike targeted a civilian vessel in neutral waters carrying corn and owned by Turkey. Zelensky did not provide the ship’s exact location, but the Romanian interior ministry said it sank about 30 nautical miles south of the port of Sfantu Gheorghe.
“At around 11:00 (09:00 GMT), coast guard border police officers were informed that a fire had broken out on board a commercial vessel located within Romania’s exclusive economic zone,” the ministry said.
“Eleven crew members have been rescued. Two deceased persons have also been identified,” it added.
Zelensky said he has repeatedly proposed concrete steps to de‑escalate the situation and ensure security in the Black Sea, and that other countries have made relevant proposals as well.
“But Russia consistently chooses terror and sinking civilian vessels instead of normal maritime navigation,” Zelensky said.
“Pressure is needed to restore global food security,” he added. “And everyone who is genuinely interested in this must help.”
On Sunday Russia’s defence ministry said it would intensify its strikes across Ukraine in response to Zelensky’s earlier comments about ramping up attacks on Russian oil refineries.
Ukraine maintains it began attacking Russian oil infrastructure because it helped the Kremlin finance the war that began with a full‑scale invasion in February 2022.
President Vladimir Putin admitted last week that Kyiv had gotten some results from its refinery attacks and that Russia had lost about 1% of its GDP.
The Russian leader intensified his rhetoric against Western allies of Ukraine, repeating a threat of using nuclear weapons.
Western allies have faced a surge in so‑called hybrid warfare incidents blamed on Russia, particularly in Poland and the Baltics in recent months.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last Thursday that Germany was preparing for further hybrid attacks, “including serious ones”, after a drone armed with explosives was found in August on the tarmac at Leipzig airport near Ukrainian cargo planes.
The head of Germany’s foreign intelligence Martin Jaeger said on Monday that Germany is in danger of becoming embroiled in a violent conflict with Russia, which is waging a shadow war and the threat of attacks against targets in Germany remains real and imminent.
