Russia reports sailor killed in Ukrainian strike on Azov civilian vessels

Russian officials said on Saturday that Ukrainian drone strikes on civilian vessels in the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of Azov killed one sailor and damaged four ships, including a methanol tanker, as both sides exchanged heavy blows across the strategic waterway and inland military targets.

Attack on Taganrog Bay

Yury Slyusar, governor of Russia's Rostov region, said in a statement on the social media platform Max that the overnight attack targeted civilian technical vessels. "Today, vessels in the Taganrog Bay once again came under a drone attack. A tragedy occurred — a sailor aboard a civilian technical vessel was killed," he said, adding that all vessels sustained only minor damage.

Slyusar noted that the attacked fleet included a methanol tanker, but emphasized that authorities detected no leak or threat of environmental contamination from the vessel. The Rostov region sits along the northeastern coast of the Sea of Azov, which has seen increased military activity and drone attacks since the start of the conflict, disrupting commercial traffic through the narrow waterway.

Ukraine claims naval operations

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said in a separate statement on Telegram that they had struck at least 25 vessels in the Sea of Azov. The Ukrainian military did not specify whether all targeted vessels were civilian or military assets, though Russian authorities maintained that only civilian ships were hit in the Taganrog Bay incident.

The Sea of Azov serves as a critical maritime corridor for both commercial shipping and military logistics, connecting to the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait, with both sides regularly accusing the other of targeting civilian infrastructure. Neither Moscow nor Kyiv has provided independent verification of the specific vessels damaged in Saturday's exchanges, which mark the latest in a series of naval confrontations.

Russian retaliation targets drone facilities

Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces carried out retaliatory overnight strikes using long-range precision-guided weapons and attack drones against Ukrainian military-industrial facilities in Kyiv and Odesa. "Overnight, the Russian armed forces carried out group strikes using long-range precision-guided ground- and air-launched weapons, as well as drones. As a result, enterprises of Ukraine's military industry in Kyiv involved in the production and storage of medium- and long-range unmanned aerial vehicles were hit," the ministry said.

The ministry identified the targeted facilities as including Aerodron, which manufactures heavy long-range drones, and Fanplit, which it said assembles and stores drones while operating under the cover of a plywood and furniture manufacturer in the Ukrainian capital. The strikes also hit port infrastructure in Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Izmail, which Moscow said were being used to receive and store military cargo and fuel supplies for Ukrainian forces operating along the southern front.

Zelenskyy reports massive aerial assault

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram that Russia launched more than 120 drones and 12 missiles overnight, approximately half of them ballistic. "Russia used more than 120 drones and 12 missiles during the night, half of them ballistic," Zelenskyy said, adding that Ukraine expects its partners to deliver military assistance packages agreed upon at the recent NATO summit.

Neither side's claims could be independently verified by international monitors or journalists. The exchanges came as diplomatic efforts to end the war have stalled, with both capitals continuing to target each other's military and logistics infrastructure across the 1,000-kilometer front line that has remained largely static through recent months.