Russian drones attacked civilian vessels en route to Ukrainian ports; one person was killed
Russian drones attacked civilian merchant ships heading for Ukrainian ports. One foreign national was killed in the attack, and several other sailors were evacuated.
A massive fire broke out on board the Panamanian-flagged dry cargo ship VICTRESS, owned by a Turkish operator, following an attack by an enemy drone.
“A massive fire broke out on the Turkish dry cargo ship VICTRESS (flying the Panamanian flag) as a result of a strike by an enemy UAV. There were nine crew members on board—citizens of Egypt, Turkey, and India,” the statement said.
Under difficult conditions and with the threat of the fire spreading further, crews of Ukrainian Navy boats carried out a rescue operation and evacuated the sailors from the vessel. At the same time, casualties among the crew were reported.
Later, Deputy Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine and Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba clarified that on the night of June 22, Russian drones struck two civilian merchant ships that were heading to Ukrainian ports.
According to him, a 58-year-old cook—an Egyptian citizen—was killed as a result of the strike on the Panamanian-flagged vessel.
Eight crew members, including citizens of Turkey and India, were forced to evacuate onto a liferaft. The vessel sustained significant damage and was rendered unseaworthy.
In addition, that same night, Russian forces attacked two more civilian vessels flying the flags of Palau and Belize. Despite the damage, they were able to continue their journey, and no casualties were reported among the crews.
“This is yet another war crime committed by Russia. Attacks on the merchant fleet and humanitarian maritime routes pose a direct threat to global food and economic security and require a decisive response from the international community,” Kuleba emphasized.
This was reported by the Ukrainian Navy on Facebook.
On the evening of June 21, a Russian drone struck a residential high-rise building in the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kharkiv.
On the night of June 20, the Ukrainian Defense Forces carried out strikes on a number of Russian military targets. Among the targets was a bridge near Henichesk, which the occupiers use to transport equipment and resupply their troops between occupied Crimea and the southern front.
In Taganrog, Russia, a power substation that supplied electricity to the “Atlant-Aero” defense enterprise was damaged. As a result, production lines involved in the manufacture of drones were disrupted.
