Russian Drone Strike Kills Captain of Corn-Laden Black Sea Vessel

A Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying corn was struck by two Russian drones in the Black Sea on Monday, killing the vessel's captain and leaving one sailor unaccounted for. The ship, identified as the Royad Mammadov, sank approximately 30 nautical miles south of the Romanian port of Sfantu Gheorghe. Eleven crew members, nationals of Azerbaijan and India, were rescued. Romania's interior ministry confirmed two people were found dead.

Romanian coast guard and border police launched a rescue operation after receiving a distress report at approximately 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT), according to a statement from Romania's interior ministry. The vessel was located within Romania's exclusive economic zone but outside Romanian territorial waters at the time of the strike. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the ship was in neutral waters and owned by Turkey. Russia's defence ministry had earlier reported striking two cargo vessels but had not specifically addressed this incident.

Zelensky described the attack as targeting 'a civilian vessel in neutral waters carrying corn and owned by Turkey' and said 'Russia consistently chooses terror and sinking civilian vessels instead of normal maritime navigation.' He added that 'pressure is needed to restore global food security' and called on all interested parties to act. Russia has framed its Black Sea strikes as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries and ships. President Vladimir Putin acknowledged last week that Ukraine's refinery campaign had cost Russia roughly 1% of its GDP.

Zelensky stated he had 'repeatedly proposed concrete steps to de-escalate the situation and ensure security in the Black Sea,' noting that other nations had offered similar proposals. On Sunday Russia's defence ministry announced it would intensify strikes across Ukraine following Zelensky's comments that Kyiv planned to expand attacks on Russian oil infrastructure. Ukraine has argued those infrastructure strikes cut off funding that the Kremlin uses to sustain its full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022. The attack raises renewed international concern over the safety of civilian shipping and global grain supply routes through the Black Sea.