Ukraine’s Naval Drones Sink Russian State Nuclear Giant’s Cargo Ship in Black Sea

A container ship operated by FESCO, a logistics company controlled by Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, sank in the Black Sea after being struck by Ukrainian naval drones.

On August 1, Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev said the container ship Yanina had been struck by two Ukrainian uncrewed surface vessels approximately 130 nautical miles from the Russian port of Novorossiysk while sailing in international waters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the strike, saying Ukrainian forces had hit the sanctioned Russian-flagged container ship Yanina, which he said had a capacity of more than 100,000 tons and “went to the bottom.”

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War in Ukraine

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According to Russian state media, the attack occurred late on July 31, causing the ship to sink. Likhachev said all 17 crew members were rescued during a search-and-rescue operation involving Russian Black Sea Fleet naval aviation and the crew of the merchant vessel Delphinus.

Likhachev described the Yanina as “an ordinary peaceful container ship that was sailing in international waters and carrying civilian cargo—from frozen food products to construction and finishing materials.” He also accused Ukraine of conducting “piracy” and “maritime robbery.”

According to Russian reports, the Yanina belonged to FESCO, one of Russia’s largest transport and logistics companies, which has been under the control of Rosatom since 2023.

Earlier, on June 27, Ukraine’s Navy reported destroying a Russian logistics boat delivering supplies to occupation forces on the temporarily occupied Tendra Spit, part of Kyiv’s broader campaign to disrupt Russian military logistics in the northwestern Black Sea.

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