Ukraine war latest: Russia strikes civilian vessels in Black Sea off Bulgaria's coast

Key developments on Oct. 6:

• Drones strike merchant vessels in Black Sea off Bulgaria and Ukraine, killing at least one
• Russian losses to Ukrainian drones surge in early October, Madyar says
• Despite intensified Russian attacks, 62% of Ukrainians ready to endure war as long as needed, poll finds
• Shadow fleet tanker reportedly ablaze near Russian port city Sochi
• Klitschko's promise of 50 mobile shelters for Kyiv set to fall far short
• Poland to deploy Patriots near Ukrainian border, announces $26 billion civil defense plan

Drones struck several merchant vessels in the Black Sea on Oct. 6, including two ships in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone. A Russian strike on a separate civilian vessel killed at least one crew member and injured several others.

One crew member, a steward, was killed, and seven others were injured when a Russian drone struck a merchant vessel flying the Marshall Islands flag in the Black Sea, according to Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper. The vessel was carrying rapeseed oil and was damaged in the strike, with a fire breaking out in the superstructure.

"By deliberately targeting civilian shipping and port infrastructure, Russia is grossly violating the norms of international law, thereby posing a threat to global food security," Kiper said.

Separately, two merchant ships, the Togo-flagged Alfa Watan and the Palau-flagged Able, were hit by drones of unknown origin about 112 kilometers (70 miles) off Bulgaria's coast on Oct. 6, according to Bulgarian broadcaster Nova. The incident is believed to be the first reported drone attack on commercial shipping inside Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in the evening that Ukrainian forces did not conduct operations in this area of the Black Sea. He said that Ukraine verified the details with Bulgaria and concluded it was a Russian attack, calling it a combined attack with sea and air drones.

The Togo-flagged vessel suffered severe structural damage and sank. The fate of its crew remains unknown, with the search for survivors continuing. NOVA reported that life jackets had been spotted near the vessel, but no people had been found.

The second vessel caught fire following the attack. All 18 crew members were rescued by a Bulgarian ferry. Two sailors were seriously injured, one with severe burns, the other with a head injury. The crew members are Indian and Turkish nationals, according to Nova.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev convened an emergency meeting with representatives of state institutions following the attacks. He described the attacks as a "gross violation of international law" and warned that such attacks pose growing risks to Black Sea shipping, increase insurance costs, and further complicate maritime transport.

Russian losses to Ukrainian drones surge in early October, Madyar says

Russian casualties attributed to Ukrainian drone strikes rose sharply during the first five days of October compared with the same period in August and September, Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, known by his callsign "Madyar," said on Oct. 6.

Between Oct. 1 and Oct. 5, Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces recorded 2,699 Russian troops killed or wounded, compared with 1,931 during the same period in September, Brovdi said in a Telegram post. The figure represents a 39.7% increase, according to Brovdi.

Compared with the first five days of August, the reported number of Russian casualties was 76.5% higher, rising from 1,529 to 2,699.

The largest increase was recorded in the area of responsibility of the Ukrainian National Guard's 1st "Azov" Corps, covering the Dobropillia-Pokrovsk sector in Donetsk Oblast, according to Brovdi.

krainian drone operators recorded 1,268 Russian troops killed or wounded in that area during the first five days of October, compared with 884 in the same period in September — a 43% increase. The figure was almost twice as high as the 664 casualties recorded during the first five days of August, representing a 91% increase, Brovdi said.

The figures cited by Brovdi cover only casualties attributed to Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces and do not include casualties from other Ukrainian military units.

Ukraine's General Staff said on Oct. 1 that Russian forces suffered an estimated 46,230 personnel losses in September, the highest monthly figure recorded by Ukraine so far in 2026.

Ukraine has increasingly relied on drones to inflict casualties and disrupt Russian operations along the front line.

Despite intensified Russian attacks, 62% of Ukrainians ready to endure war as long as needed, poll finds

Some 62% of Ukrainians are ready to endure Russia's war for as long as necessary, according to a Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) poll published Oct. 6.

The share has remained largely unchanged since late July and early August, despite the beginning of intensified Russian attacks using jet-powered drones and strikes on civilian infrastructure during the survey period. KIIS said the results show that the attacks had not led to a decline in Ukrainians' willingness to endure the war as of Sept. 21.

Another 4% of respondents said they were ready to endure the war for about a year, while 23% said they could continue for only several months or up to six months.

The remaining 11% were undecided.

"Despite the intensification of Russian terror against the civilian population — and the fact that our Western partners' response has not always been sufficiently decisive or backed by concrete actions — Ukrainians are prepared to continue bearing the burden of war until an acceptable peace is achieved," KIIS Executive Director Anton Grushetskyi said.

The survey was conducted from Sept. 12-21, when Russia had begun a new campaign of attacks involving jet-powered drones and strikes on civilian infrastructure. KIIS noted that the survey was completed before subsequent attacks on bridges across the Dnipro River.

The findings also show that 79% of Ukrainians believe Ukraine will ultimately win the war, including 47% who are certain of victory and 32% who said they rather believe Ukraine will prevail. Only 7% believe Russia will win, while 14% were undecided.

However, confidence in an eventual Ukrainian victory has declined since late July. At that time, 85% said they believed Ukraine would win, including 60% who were certain of it.

The poll was conducted through computer-assisted telephone interviews with 1,002 adults across all regions of Ukraine controlled by the government.

Shadow fleet tanker reportedly ablaze near Russian port city Sochi

A ship is burning on the Black Sea near the Russian port city of Sochi, Russian independent media Novaya Gazeta Europe reported on Oct. 6, citing Russian Telegram channels.

The ship might have been attacked by naval drones, Novaya Gazeta Europe said, while Russian authorities have not commented on the incident. Meanwhile, fire and thick black smoke can be seen above the city in videos published on social media.

Russian Telegram channels said that the vessel in question might be the Liberia-flagged tanker Aframax Rea. The online marine traffic data provider MarineTraffic last located the ship 23 hours ago on the Black Sea near the border between Russia and Georgia, close to Nizhneimeretinskaya Bay.

The vessel is a large crude oil tanker and was included on Ukraine's sanctions list as part of Russia's shadow fleet on Feb. 12, 2026.

Sochi has increasingly come under Ukrainian drone attacks over the past year, with strikes on its port and an oil depot reported in September alone. The city is around 650-700 kilometers (400-435 miles) from the Ukrainian border in Russia's Krasnodar Krai region.

Klitschko's promise of 50 mobile shelters for Kyiv set to fall far short

Kyiv City Mayor Vitali Klitschko's September promise that the capital will receive "40 to 50" mobile shelters "within a month" is set to fall short after it was revealed on Oct. 6 that only 14 will arrive by the end of the year.

"We have already purchased shelters and within a month, the first batch, roughly, as far as I remember, 40 or 50 units, will be set up at transport stops where there are no stationary shelters nearby. And we are continuing this program," Klitschko said on Sept. 12.

But the Kyiv City State Administration (KMDA) told media portal Slidstvo.info on Oct. 6 that far fewer will arrive on a far longer timescale, despite Klitschko saying some had already been purchased.

Currently, only four mobile shelters operate in the city, installed by private organizations, according to Slidstvo.info. Meanwhile, KMDA's press service told the media portal that the city required at least 620 mobile shelters and 7,894 conventional ones.

The municipal transport company Kyivpastrans is supposed to buy the 14 mobile shelters after its new financial plan is approved, Slidstvo.info reports. The new shelters will be placed at Kyivpastrans branches and at the final stops of public transport lines.

The estimated costs are around Hr 54.2 million (about $1.2 million) in total, including VAT, while a single shelter for 50 people costs about Hr 4.8 million (about $107,000), Slidstvo.info said. The city's budget for public safety and civil protection for 2027 to 2029 sits at Hr 300 million.

According to the city administration, the capital's several district administrations did not request funding for mobile shelters when the city budget was drafted, and the city itself did not buy any shelters, Slidstvo.info said.

Poland to deploy Patriots near Ukrainian border, announces $26 billion civil defense plan

Poland will station Patriot air defense batteries in its Lublin region, bordering Ukraine, Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced on Oct. 5, according to Polish Radio. The same day, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced his government will adopt a civil defense program worth 102.4 billion zlotys ($26.4 billion).

Kosiniak-Kamysz said the Patriot batteries are meant to reassure the residents of the Lublin region and protect Lublin airport and its air traffic, Polish Radio reported. Amid rising tensions between Russia and Poland, Russia has repeatedly violated Polish airspace.

The defense minister also announced that new military formations, including unmanned systems forces, will be created in the region, Polish Radio said.

Tusk announced his government will adopt a draft resolution for the Population Protection and Civil Defence Programme for 2027-2031, Polish state news agency Pap wrote.

"Five years of full funding for the program, we are talking about very large sums guaranteed for the protection of civilians and civil defense. It will be mainly investments," Tusk said.

While previous programs only paid for emergency purchases such as generators, local governments had pushed for a longer, better-funded program, Tusk said.

The money will be spent on shelters, equipment, rescue bases, stockpiles, and securing water and energy supplies during natural disasters and wartime, the prime minister said. Additionally, funding will go toward warning systems and ICT security, Tusk said. Of this money, 30 billion zlotys (about $7.7 billion) will be allocated to the regional authorities, according to him.