Navy Denies Reports of Sea Drone Attack on Odesa

Ukraine’s Navy has denied media reports claiming that Odesa was attacked by maritime drones.

“The information does not correspond to reality,” the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) said in a statement on Thursday.

According to the Navy, military personnel were conducting planned training against potential threats involving maritime drones.

“Yesterday evening, the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine conducted planned measures to prepare for repelling possible enemy strikes using maritime drones,” the statement says.

Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, including Odesa, has remained a frequent target of Russian missile and drone attacks throughout the war, while both sides have increasingly expanded the use of naval drones in the region.

Civilian vessels targeted in recent strikes

In May, the Vanuatu-flagged cargo ship ANT, sailing from southern Ukraine’s Odesa region to Turkey, was struck by a drone in the Black Sea, causing a fire and injuring two crew members.

The vessel was later evacuated and the blaze extinguished, with Kyiv attributing the attack to Russian forces.

On June 6, Russia struck two small coastal rescue boats on a humanitarian mission operated by Ukraine’s state-run Maritime Search and Rescue Service.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has called for a just and lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia, saying it is essential to ensuring long-term security in the Black Sea.

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