Ukraine sinks sanctioned Russian ship in Black Sea, Zelensky says

Ukrainian forces sank the Russian-flagged container ship Yanina in the Black Sea overnight on August 1, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on X.

Zelensky said Yanina was a sanctioned Russian container ship with a capacity of more than 100,000 metric tons.

Maritime shipping remains important to Russia’s ability to sustain its war, allowing Russian companies to move goods, maintain supply chains, and generate revenue despite international sanctions, all of which help Russia finance its invasion of Ukraine.

"Our targets are consistently defined facilities that sustain the war effort," Zelensky wrote on X.

Zelensky added that the ship was struck as Ukrainian forces carried out operations against targets in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov using domestically produced "middle-strike" weapons.

"Grateful to Ukrainian warriors who are bringing the war back to Russia and responding to its attacks against life," he said.

Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom also confirmed that the container ship had sunk in the Black Sea after being struck by two Ukrainian naval drones, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported.

The attack reportedly occurred in international waters around 130 nautical miles from the Russian port of Novorossiysk, Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev said, adding that all 17 crew members were rescued.

Rosatom claimed the ship had been transporting civilian goods, including frozen food and construction materials, and described the attack as "piracy."

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify Russian claims about the attack.