Russia says it struck four ships carrying military cargo for Ukraine

Russia’s defense ministry announced that its forces carried out strikes on two bulk cargo ships and a container vessel at the port of Chornomorsk, as well as another bulk cargo ship near Odesa.

According to a statement cited by Russia’s Sputnik agency, the ministry said these ships were being used to transport military shipments for the Ukrainian armed forces, adding that its forces targeted the vessels with Geran-4 Seeker drones.

The ministry’s statement read: “Operational surveillance footage showed the targeting of ships used to transport military equipment for the Ukrainian armed forces at the ports of Chornomorsk and Odesa. Geran-4 Seeker drones struck two cargo ships and a container vessel at Chornomorsk port, while another hostile cargo ship was hit at Odesa port.”

The Russian defense ministry added that an attack by Varyag drone units hit a drone manufacturing plant in Ukraine, noting that a large fire was observed at the facility.

Meanwhile, Metinvest, a Ukrainian steel company, said on Thursday that a Russian missile strike on a steel plant in the Dnipro region of eastern Ukraine killed five people and damaged infrastructure and production facilities, forcing a complete halt to operations.

In a statement, the company said: “Another attack on a civilian Metinvest steel facility, further evidence of Russia’s systematic strikes on Ukraine’s industrial base.”

Separately, Leonid Pasechnik, the Moscow-appointed governor of Luhansk region, said five people were killed and five others wounded in Ukrainian airstrikes over the past 24 hours in the Russian-controlled part of the region.