Ukrainian Navy saves Turkish sailors following Black Sea strike PHOTO / VIDEO

Russian forces struck civilian ships en route to Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, after which Ukraine’s Navy rescued the crew of a Turkish cargo vessel, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba announced.

In a Telegram post, Kuleba said that two civilian merchant vessels were attacked by Russian drones overnight. As a result of the strikes, a fire broke out on a Panama-flagged vessel. One crew member — a 58-year-old Egyptian cook — was killed. Eight sailors, including citizens of Türkiye and India, were forced to evacuate onto a life raft. The ship sustained severe damage and lost its seaworthiness.

He also added that vessels sailing under the flags of Palau and Belize were damaged, but there were no casualties, and both ships continued their voyage despite the damage.

Later, Ukrainian authorities confirmed that naval forces had rescued the crew of the Turkish cargo ship VICTRESS after the strike. The vessel, owned by a Turkish company and sailing under a Panamanian flag, caught fire after being hit by a drone.

“As a result of the enemy UAV strike on the cargo ship VICTRESS (shipowner — Türkiye, flag — Panama), a large-scale fire broke out. There were nine crew members on board — citizens of Egypt, Türkiye, and India. Given the difficult situation and the risk of further spread of the fire, the crews of Ukrainian Navy boats successfully carried out a rescue operation to evacuate the ship’s crew; unfortunately, there are losses among them,” the navy added.

By Jeyhun Aghazada