June 10 (Reuters) – Two vessels under Panamanian and Barbadian flags were damaged after being attacked while moving through Ukraine’s Black Sea navigation corridor, the Ukrainian Ports Authority said on Wednesday.
The authority, writing on Telegram, said one vessel was headed for the port of Odesa, critical to Ukrainian exports, with a cargo of metal, while the second was carrying grain and had left the port.
Both were operating within the navigation corridor set up by Ukrainian authorities intended to allow ships to travel through the Black Sea to Romanian ports on the Danube River.
The governor of Odesa region, Oleh Kiper, said on Telegram that Russian drones had carried out the attacks. The Russian defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Ports Authority said a fire had broken out aboard one of the ships, but was quickly extinguished by the crew. There were no injuries and both ships were able to continue on their journeys.
“The enemy is continuing to terrorise peaceful Odesa region and is trying to disrupt the operation of the Ukrainian maritime corridor,” Kiper wrote on Telegram.
Kiper also said “several waves” of Russian drones had attacked the south of Odesa region, striking civilian targets and energy infrastructure.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar;Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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