The Ukrainian navy said that a "large-scale fire" broke out on the Turkish cargo vessel Victress, which was Panama-flagged, following a drone strike by Russia on Monday. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said in a Telegram post that the strike on the vessel killed one of its crew.
Moscow and Kyiv have escalated attacks on each other in recent weeks, as US-led talks on ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II remain effectively frozen.
"A drone strike set fire to a vessel sailing under the Panama flag. A crew member was killed, a 58-year-old cook, a citizen of Egypt," Kuleba wrote on Telegram. He said that eight sailors, including citizens of Türkiye and India, fled the attack on a life raft, and that the vessel "sustained significant damage and lost seaworthiness".
"This incident once again demonstrates that the Russian Federation continues to violate the norms of international maritime law and to pose threats to civilian shipping," the navy said in a Telegram post.
Russians also attacked vessels sailing under the flags of Palau and Belize, with no casualties, according to Kuleba.
