A Turkish-flagged tanker was struck by a drone and set on fire Monday in Ukraine’s Odesa region, officials said, just one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a deal to import U.S. liquefied natural gas through the area.
According to The Associated Press, the MT Orinda was hit while offloading liquefied petroleum gas at Izmail port, Turkey’s Directorate for Maritime Affairs reported. All 16 crew members evacuated safely, with no injuries reported.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, including those in Odesa, with drones, missiles, and artillery since its full-scale invasion nearly four years ago.
Ukrainian officials did not specifically address the tanker strike. However, Odesa regional military administration head Oleh Kiper said Russian drones struck the region overnight, damaging energy and port infrastructure in multiple cities. He reported multiple fires, damage to civilian vessels, and one injury.
Izmail, located on a Black Sea estuary, is a key hub for Ukrainian imports and exports. With Russia continuing attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure, Zelenskyy has been working to secure supplies to help Ukraine through the coming winter.
Zelenskyy was in Greece on Sunday, finalizing a deal for U.S. liquefied natural gas to flow to Odesa via pipelines from the northern Greek port of Alexandroupolis starting in January. Authorities in Romania ordered evacuations of people and animals from two villages near Izmail as a precaution, citing the nature of the tanker’s cargo.
Russian strikes have also continued elsewhere in Ukraine. Overnight attacks in Balakliya, Kharkiv region, killed three people and injured 11, including four girls aged 12, 14, 15, and 17.
In Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian drones and artillery killed two and injured two others, striking apartment blocks, stores, and a hair salon, according to regional military head Vladyslav Haivanenko.
Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia fired two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 128 strike and decoy drones overnight. Meanwhile, Russia claimed its air defenses shot down 36 Ukrainian drones targeting its power grid.
A Ukrainian drone strike damaged an electricity substation in Russia’s Ulyanovsk region, Gov. Aleksey Russkikh said, though no casualties occurred and local power remained operational.
The ongoing attacks underscore the continued vulnerability of Ukraine’s infrastructure and the strategic importance of its ports and energy supply amid the war.
