Russian Drones Strike Two Ships off Ukraine’s Odesa Coast

Russian drones hit two ships in the Black Sea approaching ports in Ukraine's Odesa region on Monday, including a Chinese-owned cargo vessel, 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 Marshall Islands flag and another under 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 Marshall Islands flag. It posted a photo of the ship showing its name, with one of its sides partially charred.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on 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 Monday, 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 - Reporting by Yuliia Dysa, Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Alex Richardson)