Zelensky: Two Russian drones hit the Turkish civilian corn ship in neutral waters, two killed

The Turkish-owned merchant ship “Royad Mammadov” was hit on Monday in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania; two people lost their lives and 11 crew members were rescued, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused two Russian drones of the attack.

The Romanian authorities — the Interior Ministry and the Maritime Authority — announced on Monday two killed and 11 rescued after the fire that broke out on board the ship “Royad Mammadov”, outside Romania’s territorial waters. The ship was badly damaged and is sinking, while rescue operations continued for hours after the incident.

The civilian ship, Turkish-owned and sailing under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, is about 140 metres long and was loaded with corn; it was sailing from the Ukrainian port of Izmail to Ravenna in Italy. The incident occurred near the offshore platform of the company OMV Petrom, while the first emergency signal was given at around 10:37 local time.

President Zelensky described the attack as a “terrible attack by two Russian drones on a civilian ship in neutral waters that was transporting corn and was owned by Türkiye”, as Reuters reports. On board were Azerbaijani and Indian nationals; the captain was killed, the fate of one other person remains unclear, while 11 were rescued — one of them wounded.

The Romanian authorities did not comment on the cause of the fire, while Russia did not react immediately. Earlier on Monday, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed it had hit two cargo ships — but those statements relate to the attacks in the Odesa region, already covered on 24-ore.com, not to this incident off the Romanian coast.

The incident is part of the escalation of the campaign against merchant shipping in the Black Sea; both sides have intensified attacks on grain ships in recent months. Romania is a NATO member and Russian drones have previously violated its airspace.