Russia claims overnight strikes targeted Ukrainian ports, cargo ships

Russia said its armed forces carried out overnight strikes on Ukraine's transport infrastructure, including ports and cargo vessels in the Black Sea, as Moscow continued its campaign against Ukrainian logistics and supply routes.

According to a Russian government agency, drones struck three dry cargo ships in the Black Sea that it claimed were carrying military cargo. The agency also said a dry cargo vessel delivering supplies to the Ukrainian Armed Forces was hit in the port of Mykolaiv, Caliber.Az reports via the Russian Defence Ministry.

The claims could not be independently verified, and Ukrainian authorities had not commented on the reported strikes at the time of publication.

The reported attacks follow a series of similar Russian claims in recent days. Moscow said that on July 30 its forces struck a dry cargo ship in the port of Yuzhny and two other cargo vessels near Odesa, alleging they were transporting weapons and other military supplies.

Russia also claimed that during the night of August 2 its forces struck a fuel storage tank at the port of Odesa, as well as a sea tug in the port of Mykolaiv and another dry cargo ship in the Black Sea.

By Sabina Mammadli