A Turkish-owned grain ship, the Royad Mammadov, sank in the Black Sea after a reported drone attack. Romanian authorities said two people died and 11 crew were rescued.
A Turkish-owned grain ship, the Royad Mammadov, sank in the Black Sea on Monday after being hit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, by two Russian drones. Kyiv Post reported the account.
The vessel was carrying corn from Izmail in Ukraine toward Ravenna, Italy. Romanian authorities later said two people died and 11 crew members were rescued, one of them injured, after the ship caught fire and sank in Romania's exclusive economic zone, about 30 nautical miles south of Sfantu Gheorghe.
Zelensky said the captain was killed. The ship is linked to Turkey's Palmali group, founded by Azerbaijani-born businessman Mubariz Mansimov. Kyiv Post did not quote a Russian statement on this strike.
Turkey has repeatedly raised attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea. Ankara and the United Nations have been seeking talks on a safer corridor, drawing on the 2022 grain initiative.
The death toll cited here is the Romanian confirmation reported by Kyiv Post. Attribution of the drones rests on Zelensky's statement in that report.
People Sentiments Negative
- Zelensky blamed Russian drones for the strike that sank the ship.
- Romanian authorities confirmed two deaths and 11 rescues.