Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has strongly condemned a Russian drone attack on a civilian cargo vessel carrying corn in the Black Sea, describing the strike as "horrific" and accusing Moscow of deliberately targeting commercial shipping in neutral waters. According to Zelensky, the ship's captain was killed in the assault, which involved two drones, and a second sailor remains unaccounted for. Eleven crew members — identified as nationals of Azerbaijan and India — were rescued following the incident.
The vessel, named the Royad Mammadov, was reportedly owned by Turkey and was transporting grain at the time of the attack. Zelensky stated that the ship was operating in neutral waters when it was struck, though he did not immediately provide its precise location. Romania's interior ministry later confirmed that the vessel had sunk approximately 30 nautical miles south of its port of Sfantu Gheorghe, placing the incident within Romania's exclusive economic zone.
Romanian authorities said they launched a rescue operation after receiving reports of a fire aboard the commercial ship around 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT). In a statement, the interior ministry said Coast Guard border police officers were informed that a blaze had broken out on the vessel. "Eleven crew members have been rescued. Two deceased persons have also been identified," the ministry added, confirming the fatality figures.
The Russian defence ministry has not directly commented on the specific attack on the Royad Mammadov, but it stated earlier that its forces had struck two cargo vessels. Moscow has repeatedly claimed that its strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and shipping are retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries and vessels in the Black Sea. The Kremlin has framed these actions as legitimate military responses to what it describes as Ukrainian aggression against Russian economic assets.
Zelensky used the incident to renew his call for international action to protect maritime navigation in the Black Sea, a critical corridor for global grain exports. He said he had "repeatedly proposed concrete steps to de-escalate the situation and ensure security in the Black Sea," and noted that other countries had made relevant proposals as well. "But Russia consistently chooses terror and sinking civilian vessels instead of normal maritime navigation," he said, adding that "pressure is needed to restore global food security."
The attack comes amid a broader escalation in Russian strikes across Ukraine. On Sunday, Russia's defence ministry announced it would intensify its strikes on Ukrainian territory in response to comments made by Zelensky earlier last week, in which he indicated that Kyiv would ramp up its attacks on Russian oil refineries. Ukraine has argued that its strikes on Russian oil infrastructure are justified because they help finance the Kremlin's war effort, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged last week that Ukrainian attacks on refineries had "got some results," and that Russia had lost approximately 1% of its GDP as a consequence. Despite this admission, Putin has shown no sign of de-escalating the conflict. He has instead intensified his rhetoric against Western allies of Ukraine, repeating threats of nuclear weapons use — a warning that has been met with concern across NATO capitals.
Western allies have also reported a surge in so-called hybrid warfare incidents attributed to Russia, particularly in Poland and the Baltic states in recent months. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last Thursday that his country was preparing for further hybrid attacks, "including serious ones," following the discovery in August of a drone armed with explosives on the tarmac at Leipzig airport, close to Ukrainian cargo planes.
The head of Germany's foreign intelligence agency, Martin Jaeger, said on Monday that "Germany is in danger of becoming embroiled in a violent conflict with Russia," which he accused of "waging a shadow war" against the West. Jaeger added that the threat of attacks against targets in Germany remains "real and imminent," underscoring the growing concern among European governments about Russian sabotage and destabilization operations.
The sinking of the Royad Mammadov highlights the heightened risks facing commercial shipping in the Black Sea, a region that has become a flashpoint in the broader Russia-Ukraine conflict. Since Moscow's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in 2023, Ukraine has sought to maintain its own maritime export corridor, but vessels have faced increasing danger from Russian strikes and naval blockades. The incident also raises questions about the safety of international crew members, who are often nationals of third countries caught in the crossfire of a conflict not their own.
Zelensky's call for greater international pressure on Russia reflects Ukraine's ongoing diplomatic push to rally global support for its defense and to hold Moscow accountable for attacks on civilian infrastructure. The strike on a Turkish-owned vessel could also complicate Russia's relations with Turkey, a NATO member that has sought to maintain a delicate balance between Kyiv and Moscow throughout the war. Turkey has not yet issued a formal response to the attack, but the incident may prompt Ankara to reassess its maritime cooperation with Russia in the Black Sea.
As the war enters a new phase of intensified strikes and counter-strikes, the international community faces mounting pressure to address the security vacuum in the Black Sea and to prevent further attacks on civilian shipping. The deaths of the captain and the missing sailor serve as a stark reminder of the human cost of the conflict, which has now claimed thousands of lives and disrupted global food supplies. With no signs of de-escalation from Moscow, the prospects for peace remain distant, and the risks to commercial vessels and their crews continue to grow.
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