Russia Answers Drone Attacks With War On Ukrainian Ports, Maritime Shipping

The Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) has an 'answer' to Ukraine's recent long-range drone attacks, which have wreaked havoc on oil production and most recently online retailers and manufacturing. Ukraine has also been attacking Russian ships elsewhere in the Black Sea as well as Sea of Azov.

The MoD has announced a fresh wave of strikes targeting multiple Ukrainian port installations and Black Sea shipping targets, which represents a sharp escalation in Moscow's ongoing campaign to choke off regional logistics, and in order to further 'punish' Ukraine.

While Ukraine's repeat large drone waves on the Moscow region have driven headlines, much less attention has been paid to the emerging and renewed Black Sea war.

Moscow seeks to sever military supply routes and disrupt arms shipments bound for Ukraine, but this has also obviously resulted in damaged and sunken tankers, auxiliary vessels, and even deaths of civilian bystanders among international shipping crew.

Russia's military has said that from the weekend through Monday, key logistics hubs of Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Port of Mykolaiv (Nikolayev) have been hit - with the latter site seeing a docked cargo vessel receiving a direct strike.

All of this comes after local authorities in Odessa confirmed Sunday that a foreign-flagged cargo ship, which some reports have identified as the Guinea-Bissau-flagged Golden Leo, capsized and sank near the coast after taking heavy damage from a Russian attack over a week ago.

🚨 Russian strikes continue to hit Ukrainian ports and vessels supplying the military

The attacks targeted a trans-shipment facility and fuel depots in Nikolayev's port, and also hit a cargo vessel at sea that was hauling military supplies to Odessa and Chernomorsk. pic.twitter.com/d7VLskmYOC

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) July 28, 2026

According to The Maritime Executive: 

A small cargo ship that was badly damaged in a Russian strike off Odesa has gone down, according to Ukrainian authorities. The small vessel had absorbed multiple hits, and it sank after six days of progressive flooding.

On July 19, three Russian cruise missiles hit the Turkish-operated, Guinea-Bissau-flagged ship Golden Leo off the coast of Odesa. The vessel was outbound with a load of corn at the time of the strike; Russia has been targeting Ukraine's grain export sector in retaliation for strikes on Russian logistics and energy infrastructure. 

Video of the slowly sinking ship had gone viral over the last several days, and the Russian attack killed ten people - and with eight crew members later having to be rescued. 

At least two of the projectiles that hit the vessel were anti-ship missiles, triggering a massive fire before it went under.

The cargo vessel hit by multiple Russian cruise missiles while carrying Ukrainian grain off the coast of Odesa last week finally sank earlier today. pic.twitter.com/oAeSZZkHAW

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) July 26, 2026

Russia has come under international condemnation for these attacks, especially from India given the rising numbers of Indian crew members killed or injured.

Russian vessels with civilian crew have also been coming under attack from Ukraine in the same region...

The crew of the Russian NEW VICTORY Bulk Carrier, IMO 9159050, filmed a FP-1/FP-2 attack drone strike on their vessel in the Black Sea. pic.twitter.com/R6vSvqCeZs

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) July 26, 2026

Sea war has also lately expanded into the Caspian, potentially linking the Ukraine and Iran conflicts...

Ukraine says it has struck several vessels in the Caspian Sea used to transport Russian military cargo to Iran. Reports suggest the cargo ships Port Olya 2 and Begey were hit. Meanwhile, Iranian regime-affiliated channels are threatening ballistic missile strikes on Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/OBFk2SdH3H

— Baba Banaras™ (@RealBababanaras) July 25, 2026

But the Kremlin has shot back, saying it is Ukraine which is unleashing "indiscriminate terrorist attacks against civilian infrastructure" through its constant drone attacks.