President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces struck the 962 teu, Russian-flagged Yanina, a 2005-built vessel operated by FESCO, overnight on July 31 and August 1. Two uncrewed surface vessels reportedly hit the ship around 130 nautical miles from Novorossiysk. The Yanina subsequently sank, with all 17 crewmembers rescued. Sixteen were picked up by the Turkish-flagged Delphinus, while another seafarer was evacuated by Russian naval aviation.   FESCO is controlled by Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, and is subject to western sanctions over its links to Moscow’s war effort.   Rosatom chief executive Alexey Likhachev described the attack as piracy and said the ship had been carrying frozen food and construction materials. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was targeting facilities that sustain Russia’s military campaign.

Ukraine also released footage of a sea-drone strike against the 105,600 dwt Bourda, a 2006-built tanker owned by Greece’s IMS. Details of damage and possible casualties were not immediately available.

The maritime attacks formed part of a much wider overnight operation. Ukraine said its long-range drones struck the Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim, Bashneft-Novoil and Bashneft-UNPZ refineries at Ufa in Bashkortostan, around 1,600 km from the Ukrainian border.   The three plants form one of Russia’s largest refining clusters, with combined annual capacity exceeding 23m tonnes. Ukraine said they supplied aviation fuel, diesel and lubricants to the Russian military.   Russia has meanwhile continued attacking Ukrainian maritime logistics.

Moscow’s defence ministry said on Sunday (2 Aug) that its forces struck port infrastructure and two vessels allegedly carrying military cargo at Mykolaiv, as well as another ship transporting military supplies in the Black Sea. The claims have not been independently verified, and the vessels were not identified.

The exchanges show both sides increasingly treating commercial vessels, ports, refineries and export infrastructure as elements of their opponent’s wartime logistics network.