Odesa strikes kill three as Black Sea shipping fight intensifies
Ukrainian officials reported deadly Russian attacks on Odesa as Kyiv said its drones struck Russian tankers and a tugboat in the Black Sea.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
2 min read
Russian strikes on Ukraine’s southern port region of Odesa killed at least three people, Ukrainian officials said, while Kyiv reported a new wave of attacks on Russian vessels in the Black Sea. The exchanges point to a widening fight over sea routes that remain central to Ukraine’s wartime trade and Russia’s military logistics.
Serhiy Lysak, the military administrator in Odesa, said Wednesday that three people were killed and three others were injured in Russian attacks on the city. Odesa regional Governor Oleh Kiper said Russia had carried out a “massive” drone and missile assault on the region for a fifth consecutive day, hitting civilian, industrial and port sites.
Al Jazeera, AFP and Reuters reported that Russian attacks also hit port infrastructure in Mykolaiv. The reports did not give a detailed casualty breakdown for Mykolaiv.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces struck port facilities in Odesa and Chernomorsk. The ministry said the sites were used to store fuel and assemble drones, a claim made by Moscow and not independently verified in the report.
Al Jazeera reported that Russia has increased strikes in recent days on Black Sea ports in the Greater Odesa area. Those ports handle much of Ukraine’s grain and other cargo, making them important to the country’s economy during the war.
Ukraine has also expanded attacks aimed at Russian supply lines in occupied parts of southern Ukraine and at isolating Crimea, which Russia has occupied since 2014, according to the report. Kyiv has relied on drones and other long-range systems to pressure Russian shipping and logistics around the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, said Ukrainian drones struck 20 Russian vessels in the Black Sea. He said the targets included 17 oil tankers, two gas tankers and one tugboat.
Brovdi also said earlier this week that Ukrainian forces had “hunted down” 116 Russian vessels over nine days. The report did not include independent confirmation of that figure.
Moscow said Tuesday it was preparing to redirect exports after repeated Ukrainian attacks on Russian shipping in the Sea of Azov. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described Ukraine’s attacks on shipping as “terrorism,” according to the report.
The renewed fighting at sea coincided with a visit to Kyiv by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She said on X that she would announce new steps to integrate Ukraine’s defence industry with the European Union’s, writing that the goal was to “produce more, and faster.”
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.