Russia launched waves of drones to attack port infrastructure and civilian ships in Ukraine's Odessa region on Tuesday, Ukrainian Navy and government officials said.
Two Panama-flagged civilian vessels - Emmakris III and Captain Karam - were attacked by Russian drones as they entered a Ukrainian Black Sea port to load wheat, the Ukrainian navy said.
Russian troops struck the Black Sea ports of Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk and oil storage tanks were also hit, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.
"This is yet another targeted attack by Russia on civilian port infrastructure. The enemy is trying to disrupt logistics and complicate shipping," he added. Despite the attacks, both ports continued to operate, he said.
Odessa and the wider region nearby are home to the Black Sea ports that are crucial for Ukraine's foreign trade and the survival of its wartime economy. Ukraine is a major global producer and exporter of agricultural products.
During nearly four years of the war, the role of Odessa and its two other ports of Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk as major trading hubs grew as other Ukrainian ports were destroyed, occupied or disrupted by Russia's forces.
In the past several months, maritime warfare between Ukraine and Russia has intensified.
Both sides have attacked naval and commercial assets in the Black Sea and beyond. Ukraine is increasingly using its sea drones for attacks on ships connected to Russia’s shadow fleet.
Russia has stepped up its attacks on the city of Odessa and its port infrastructure.
"Attacks on them threaten the lives of civilians and undermine global food security," Ukraine's navy said. "Targeted strikes on civilian objects are a deliberate war crime."
(Reporting by Olena Harmash; Editing by William Maclean and Andrew Heavens)
