After more than four years since the start of the war in Ukraine, the bombings continue. Following a massive attack by Ukraine on Russia, Moscow decided to retaliate on the night of Sunday, May 17th, sending 524 drones to locations near the Ukrainian port of Odessa in the Black Sea and in the industrial zone of Dnipro, as reported by France 24. 22 missiles were also fired.
But it was another incident that could create new tensions. Indeed, on the eve of a visit by Vladimir Putin to China, one of these drones, a Shahed, hit a Chinese cargo ship off the coast of Odessa. “An enemy combat drone attacked the cargo KSL Deyang,” the Ukrainian naval forces announced on Telegram, along with a photo showing a large black mark on the ship’s bridge.
No deaths or injuries are reported. According to Ukrainian forces, this incident illustrates once again that Russia’s attacks “pose a threat not only to Ukraine, but now it is a risk for its partners whose ships are in the Black Sea.” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed that the Russians “could not ignore which ship was in the sea.”
Fortunately, the ship, flying the flag of the Marshall Islands and belonging to a Chinese owner with a crew of the same nationality, only suffered slight damage. None of the people on board were injured or killed.
Another ship, flying the flag of Guinea-Bissau, was also hit by the Russian drones in the same region. “Both ships experienced brief fires that the crew quickly extinguished on their own,” stated Dmytro Pletentchouk, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian naval forces.
