Russia conducts new strikes on Ukrainian ports and shipping – MOD

The Russian military hit three vessels involved in Kiev’s war effort throughout Sunday while a previously attacked ship capsized and sank off Odessa

The Russian military has struck another three vessels carrying military cargo to Ukraine, as well as conducted strikes on port infrastructure, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.

Russia has ramped up strikes on Ukrainian shipping in recent weeks in an effort to disrupt deliveries of weaponry and military hardware to Black Sea ports. The campaign has been coupled with an uptick in strikes on dual-use port infrastructure, including storage depots and oil facilities.

Throughout Sunday, the Russian military targeted three bulkers carrying military cargo to Ukraine, including a vessel outside of Odessa and two others in the Dnieper–Bug estuary, the ministry said in a statement. It also attacked a container terminal at the port of Chernomorsk used to store war supplies. The targets were hit with “sea-based precision weaponry” and drones, the ministry added without elaborating.

In the meantime, the Odessa regional military administration said a foreign-flagged commercial vessel capsized and sank off the city. The sunken ship is believed to be the Guinea-Bissau-flagged general cargo vessel Golden Leo, reportedly struck by the Russian military last weekend. Unlike most of the vessels targeted during the ongoing campaign, which were hit by AI-powered Seeker drones, this ship was reportedly hit by at least two anti-ship missiles, sustaining extensive damage.

In recent weeks, Kiev has stepped up long-range attacks against Russia, targeting oil refineries, power grids, and logistics. In many instances, the Ukrainian drones hit purely civilian targets, including multiple passenger buses, as well as major warehouses of online marketplaces.

Moscow has described the Ukrainian effort as indiscriminate terrorist action against civilian infrastructure and retaliated with its own ramped-up long-range-strikes campaign. Russia maintains it targets exclusively military sites and dual-use facilities, while avoiding purely civilian locations.