KYIV, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Russian drones struck two foreign-flagged vessels on Monday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said, the second such attack in four days on Black Sea shipping as the war nears the end of its fourth year.
Kuleba said the vessels were sailing under the flags of Panama and San Marino, and that one person had been injured.
The Panamanian ship was en route to pick up vegetable oil and the San Marino-flagged vessel had just been loaded with corn, he added.
“This is further evidence that Russia is deliberately attacking civilian vessels, international trade, and maritime safety,” Kuleba wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters the attacks took place near the port of Chornomorsk, in the southern Odesa region. One of the vessels was heading to Italy, the person said.
The Odesa region is home to the Black Sea ports that are crucial for Ukraine’s foreign trade and the survival of its wartime economy.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Writing by Dan Peleschuk;Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Sharon Singleton)
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