On 5 October two Russian drones struck a civilian ship carrying corn in the Black Sea near Romania. Zelensky said the captain was killed.
On 5 October, about 20 nautical miles off the Romanian coast in the Black Sea, two Russian drones struck the civilian grain ship Royad Mammadov. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it a "horrific strike" on a vessel in neutral waters. Volunteers Support Ukraine looks at what is known.
According to Romanian media, an alert was raised around 11:00 when the Romanian Naval Authority received a report of a serious incident outside territorial waters — roughly nine nautical miles from the Pescăruș gas platform. The ship caught fire and Romanian services joined the rescue operation. Zelensky said it is owned by a Turkish company and was carrying corn, with Azerbaijani and Indian citizens aboard.
Zelensky said the captain was killed and the fate of one more person was still being established. Eleven crew members were rescued, one of them injured. Romania's Ministry of Internal Affairs reported two dead and 11 sailors rescued.
Zelensky stressed that Ukraine has repeatedly proposed concrete steps to de-escalate and secure the Black Sea, but that Russia "chooses terror and sinking civilian vessels." Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the attack on a Turkish vessel particularly cynical given Turkey's peace efforts.
Attacks on civilian ships endanger seafarers and the grain supplies that many countries' food security relies on. NGO Volunteers Support Ukraine keeps helping people affected by the war as far as its resources allow, and offers condolences to the families of the dead.
All photos in this article are illustrative and do not show the Royad Mammadov.
