President Volodymyr Zelensky has renewed his appeal to international partners for expanded air defence support, warning that Ukrainian forces were only able to intercept a fraction of the missiles launched by Russia during overnight strikes.
Zelensky identified the nation’s energy grid as a primary target of the bombardment, consistent with Moscow’s earlier warnings that it would intensify attacks on Ukrainian power facilities in retaliation for strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.
In a separate Wednesday update, Zelensky reported that Ukrainian forces had conducted retaliatory strikes against four distinct targets over the preceding 24 hours, including two oil facilities and a training ground across the Perm, Samara, and Astrakhan regions.
“There is also a response in the Black Sea,” the Ukrainian president wrote.
Footage aired Tuesday evening showed a massive plume of smoke engulfing an oil tanker off the coast of Sochi on Russia’s southern Black Sea shoreline.
Russia’s transport ministry later confirmed that unmanned surface vessels had targeted the Liberian-flagged Aframax Rio tanker, adding that the crew had been rescued.
In a separate incident, Bulgaria has suspended search efforts for the missing crew of a ship that sank after being struck by a drone on Tuesday, Vice-Admiral Rumen Nikolov of the Maritime Administration Executive Agency told Bulgarian broadcaster Nora TV.
Tracking data indicates the vessel was anchored at the southern end of the Bosphorus Strait until Monday, when it entered the Black Sea heading north. Its last reported position appeared on the MarineTraffic tracking platform at 23:43 GMT on Monday within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone.
Maritime-specific news outlet Maritime.bg reported that the Alfa Watan was hit by a drone and sank approximately 70 nautical miles (130km) east of Byala.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev stated on Tuesday that a second vessel, carrying grain, was also hit within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, though the 18 crew members aboard were rescued.
Sofia has not yet identified who it believes was responsible for the attacks.
These events unfold as Russia escalates strikes across the Black Sea, particularly the eastern sector, as part of its ongoing war against Ukraine.
In an evening address on Tuesday, Zelensky asserted that Russia was responsible for the maritime attacks.
Moscow has not commented on the latest incidents.
Additional reporting by BBC Verify
