Cargo Ship and Ports Damaged During Massive Russian Attack on Ukraine

Ukrainian officials are reporting what they called a “massive Russian strike” directed overnight and into this morning broadly at the country’s infrastructure, including ports as well as power and other elements across at least 13 regions of the country. A smaller cargo ship was caught loading in the Odesa region and was reportedly damaged during the attacks.

According to the reports, Ukraine asserts that Russia launched at least 650 drones and more than three dozen rockets, with air raid sirens continuing to sound. Odesa regional administrator Oleh Kiper said that the was damage to the port, energy, transport, industrial, and residential elements, although there were no reported injuries.

The dry cargo vessel was docked in the Odesa port complex, loading soybeans. Reports only described the ship as being registered in Lebanon. Pictures showed fires burning on the ship and firefighters aboard.

“Once again, the Odesa region and port infrastructure are under enemy attack. Civilian warehouses and critical energy facilities have been damaged,” said Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine Oleksii Kuleba.

 

Fire crews aboard the damaged vessel (State Emergency Service of Ukraine)

 

There were reports of damage to at least one warehouse in the port complex. The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority also said there was damage in the port of Reni, impacting the infrastructure as well as administrative buildings.

An earlier Russian missile attack on the Odesa port complex and the city killed at least eight people, and 27 others were wounded. Some of the casualties were said to have been on a city bus that was struck.

The energy infrastructure remains one of the key targets. They said the thermal power plant operated by Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, was damaged and offline. The Zaporizhzhia Steel Works also reported a loss of power and an emergency shutdown of production.

Russia had also recently struck the port of Pivdennyi. A fire broke out in the port area, with about 30 storage tankers for flour and vegetable oil catching fire.

The Ukrainian media said talk of the possible pause in the assaults for the Christmas season now seems unlikely.