Ukraine Attacks 5 Cargo Ships in Azov Sea & Romania’s Port of Constanta

Ukrainian drones targeted 5 cargo ships in the Sea of Azov and coastal waters of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.

Ukrainian drone commander Robert Brovdi said that the ships, which included tankers and cargo ships, had their radar systems disabled and their names painted over so they could sneakily carry military cargo, fuel supplies and stolen Ukrainian grain.

During the attack on two of the vessels, Nastra and Circon, 5 Azerbaijani citizens were killed, the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan confirmed.

The Azerbaijani government also stated that the ships did not belong to them.

In the past few weeks, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian military and energy infrastructure, including shadow fleet vessels carrying Ukrainian grain illegally.

The conflict spilt into neighbouring countries on Friday when a Ukrainian naval drone exploded near an oil terminal in the Romanian Port of Constanta.

The blast caused severe damage to a ship docked at the facility and destroyed local warehouses, where a minor fire was also reported.

Romanian authorities said that the drone was part of a group of 5.

At the same time, Ukraine explained that the drone had changed course due to the interference by the Russian defence system and exploded in Constanta.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan said this was the second security incident of the week, after a stray naval mine was found close to Vama Veche.

In another incident last week, two people were injured when a Russian drone struck a residential building in the Romanian city of Galati close to the border of Ukraine.

Russia has not responded to Ukrainian attacks, killing 13 people and injuring more than 70 in just 24 hours, according to media reports.

Four people died when Russian drones struck a dairy factory in the Kyiv region.

Additionally, a 35-year-old woman was killed during another stone attack on a petrol pump in Kherson.

At the same time, Ukraine launched drones on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, when Vladimir Putin was arriving in th city for an economic forum.

Amidst the intensified fighting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sent an open letter to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, asking him to meet in person to discuss ceasefire negotiations.

Zelensky said that it is not right to wait for the United States to turn its attention to Europe, adding that peace requires direct engagement from the parties involved.

However, Putin has rejected the offer and said that he sees no reason to meet.

Putin says that the conflict can end only when Ukraine promises to cede 4 partially occupied lands, the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia and does not join NATO.

Ukraine does not want to accept the two conditions laid by Russia, saying this would only increase Russian aggression against Kyiv in future.