Ukrainian Drones Sink Russian Container Ship in Black Sea

A Russian-owned container ship, the Yanina, sank in the Black Sea after a Ukrainian naval drone attack overnight, both Ukrainian and Russian officials said, though the two sides disputed the vessel’s purpose.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine struck the sanctioned, Russian-flagged ship and “sent it to the bottom.”

Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, said the Yanina — operated by its shipping arm FESCO — sank about 130 nautical miles from Novorossiysk after a drone attack.

All 17 crew members were rescued, Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev said. He described the Yanina as an ordinary civilian container ship carrying civilian goods in international waters.

Likhachev called the attack “piracy,” while Zelenskyy said Ukraine targets only facilities that sustain Russia’s war.

Zelenskyy also said the Security Service of Ukraine struck three oil refineries in Russia’s Bashkortostan region, nearly 1,600 kilometers away.

Russia had not confirmed the refinery strikes, which could not be independently verified.

The strikes followed a Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv a day earlier that Zelenskyy said killed nine people and injured dozens.

That attack damaged 18 residential buildings, a school and the Lithuanian Embassy, he said, adding that only one of 27 ballistic missiles was intercepted.

This is a developing story. Virginia Times will update as information becomes available.