Ukraine strikes cargo ships and admits Romania drone blast as Putin prepares for key speech

BBC:

Ukraine says it has struck five ships carrying illegal cargo in the Sea of Azov and in coastal waters of Russian-occupied territories.

The Ukrainian drone forces commander said the vessels were involved in “stealing” Ukrainian grain, as well as transferring military cargo and fuel.

The strikes come as Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to speak at a major economic event in St Petersburg, and a day after Ukraine’s President Zelensky offered face-to-face talks with the Russian leader on ending the war.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has confirmed one of its naval drones exploded off Romania’s coast on Friday. No injuries were reported in the blast.

It is unclear if the strikes on cargo ships claimed by Kyiv are linked to the deaths of five Azerbaijanis, whom the country’s foreign ministry said were killed in drone attacks on ships in the sea.

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday that two cargo ships, the Natra and Zirkon, were attacked by drones overnight in the Taganrog Bay area of the Sea of Azov.

It did not specify who was behind the attacks and noted that the ships do not belong to Azerbaijan.

Russia has blamed Ukraine for the attacks. There was no immediate response from Kyiv.

Earlier, Robert Brovdi, Ukraine’s drone commander, announced that five “illegally loitering vessels” had been struck overnight in the ports of Mariupol, Berdyansk and in the coastal waters of what Ukraine calls the “temporarily occupied territories” – parts of the country that Russia currently controls.

He said the names of the five ships, which included cargo vessels and tankers, were painted over and their radars were turned off “with the aim of quietly stealing Ukrainian grain”, as well as “transferring military cargo and fuel”. Brovdi did not mention any deaths.

In Ukraine, at least 13 people have been killed and more than 70 others have been injured in the past day, according to local officials.

Among them are four people who died after Russian drones struck a dairy factory outside the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, according to the regional head.

Deaths and injuries from Russian strikes were also reported in Kherson, Kharkiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv and Dnipro regions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said food warehouses, a postal building and a school were among the other facilities that were hit.

On Thursday, he called for a face-to-face meeting between himself and Vladimir Putin in a renewed bid to end the war.

In an open letter to the Russian president, Zelensky said it would be “wrong to simply wait” until the war in Europe becomes the focus of the US’s attention once more, adding peace could only come “through direct engagement between” Ukraine and Russia.

He also called for a full ceasefire for the duration of proposed negotiations – something Putin ruled out earlier on Thursday.

The Kremlin confirmed it had received the letter. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state newspaper Izvestia that it was likely Putin would comment on it on Friday.

The European Union, France and the US are among those that have backed Zelensky’s calls for a meeting.

“I think it would be great if they met. They should. Get it done,” US President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday.

“I want them each to make certain compromises, and I think they’re going to do it.”