Russia attacked two Ukrainian ports on Friday, damaging three Turkish-owned commercial vessels, including a ship carrying food supplies, Ukrainian officials and a ship owner said. The strikes came days after Moscow warned it could cut Ukraine “off from the sea” and just hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told Russian President Vladimir Putin that a limited ceasefire covering ports and energy infrastructure could help de-escalate tensions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shared images showing a large fire aboard a vessel at the port of Chornomorsk in the Odesa region, with firefighters battling the blaze. “This proves once again that Russians not only fail to take the current opportunity for diplomacy seriously enough, but also continue the war precisely to destroy normal life in Ukraine,” he said.
The ship’s owner, Cenk Shipping, said its vessel Cenk T was attacked around 1600 local time. No crew members were injured and damage was limited, the company added.
Reuters verified video footage of the attack posted on social media, confirming the vessel and port infrastructure. Fabian Hinz, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, identified the weapon used as a Russian Geran-2 drone operating in a loitering configuration.
Russia’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said the strike targeted “civilian logistics and commercial shipping,” adding that Russia attacked ports using drones and ballistic missiles. One private company employee was injured in a separate strike on Odesa port, where a cargo loader was also damaged, officials said.
Ukraine’s navy confirmed that three Turkish-owned vessels were damaged in total. Turkey’s foreign ministry acknowledged damage at Chornomorsk but said there were no reports of injured Turkish citizens. Ankara reiterated calls for an arrangement to suspend attacks on navigational safety, ports, and energy infrastructure to prevent escalation in the Black Sea.
The ports in Odesa region are a critical economic lifeline for Ukraine, a major global commodities exporter. The latest attacks follow Ukraine’s recent strikes on Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” tankers and targets in the Caspian Sea, which Kyiv says are aimed at disrupting Moscow’s war financing.
