Russian drone strikes hit two foreign vessels in Odesa region, Kyiv says
KYIV, January 9 (Reuters) – Russia attacked two foreign-flagged civilian ships with drones in the southern Odessa region, killing a Syrian national and wounding another, Ukrainian officials said on Friday.
Moscow has stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s maritime export arteries in the past two months in retaliation for attacks on “shadow fleet” tankers heading to Russia to export its oil.
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said in a statement that a ship was sailing along Ukraine’s maritime export corridor to receive a grain cargo from the port of Chornomorsk and was under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
The other, near the port of Odessa, was under the Comoros flag and transported soybeans.
Deep water ports in the Odessa region are of great importance for Ukraine’s commodity-based economy to export its products.
“This is another indication that Russia is deliberately targeting civilian targets, international transportation and food logistics,” Kuleba said. he wrote.
He published images showing ships bearing the names Ladonna and Wael K on their hulls.
Ladonna is a 157-meter Comoros-flagged bulk carrier, while Wael K is a 115-meter general cargo ship, according to ship tracking site MarineTraffic.
The number of Russian attacks on ports in the Odessa region has nearly tripled from the previous year to 96 in 2025, a Ukrainian port official told Reuters on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Writing by Max Hunder and Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Alison Williams and Kevin Liffey)
