Russian drones struck three foreign-flagged merchant ships transiting Ukraine's Black Sea maritime corridor on the evening and overnight of 29 May. The strike ignited fires and injured two crew members on a Vanuatu-flagged vessel, Vice Prime Minister for Restoration Oleksii Kuleba reported. The ship was towed for repairs after the strike.
The attack continues a pattern of Russian targeting of civilian shipping in the corridor that has handled most of Ukraine's grain exports since Moscow walked out of the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative in 2023.
"Despite constant Russian attacks, Ukraine maintains the operation of the maritime corridor, and ports and crews continue to ensure cargo movement and global food security," Kuleba stressed.
ANT bulk carrier hit en route from Odesa to Turkiye
One of the ships hit was the bulk carrier ANT, which had departed an Odesa Oblast port carrying cargo bound for Türkiye when a Russian drone struck its superstructure and started a fire, the Ukrainian Navy said in its own update.
The Maritime Search and Rescue Service and Navy units localized the blaze and evacuated two wounded crew members by patrol boat to a medical facility.
Crews extinguished onboard fires
Crews aboard the other vessels extinguished onboard fires themselves. Ukraine has not yet released full details on the flags or names of the other two ships hit overnight, beyond confirming that a Vanuatu-flagged vessel suffered injuries.
Sustained campaign against civilian shipping
The 29 May strikes follow a recent run of Russian attacks on foreign-flagged commercial shipping in the corridor. On 18 May, Russia hit a Chinese commercial vessel flagged from Beijing, Moscow's closest war ally, in Ukrainian Black Sea waters with a Shahed drone.
Chinese companies are reportedly supplying Russia with components for combat drones despite international sanctions and Beijing’s claims of “neutrality.”
Ukrainian officials describe the campaign as a deliberate effort to disrupt Ukraine's maritime logistics and impose additional risk on international carriers.
