Russian Strike Damages Port of Pivdennyi

Russia has once again conducted a drone strike on the Ukrainian seaport of Pivdennyi, according to the Ukraine Sea Ports Authority, causing infrastructure damage.

According to the authority, the strike damaged rail infrastructure and caused a fire. Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction, Oleksiy Kuleba, added that hangars, a locomotive and production buildings were damaged in the attack. Cleanup operations continued Wednesday, and the port remains in operation.

Three were injured elsewhere in the region in a wave of Russian drone attacks, including one who was hospitalized.

Russia has ramped up attacks on Ukraine's seaports in an effort to damage its export economy, which centers on agricultural goods. 96 attacks on seaports were repored in 2025, according to Ukrainska Pravda, affecting more than 300 facilities.

Pivdennyi is no exception, and has faced its share of the onslaught. In December, it was forced to suspend operations for several days after Russian strikes caused a large vegetable oil spill.

Lost naval mine washes up in Romania

This week, Romanian authorities responded to a report of a naval mine that had drifted up on the coast near Constanta, a long-running hazard of the ongoing hostilities in the Black Sea.

Personnel at the Romanian military's Midia firing range spotted the mine and reported it up the chain of command. Local police helped to secure the scene, and expert demolition divers from the Romanian Navy's 39th Diving-Engineering Center came to dispose of the explosive device.

The mines are a serious hazard to merchant shipping and to civilians. In August 2025, three swimmers were killed by mine blasts at a beach near Zakota, Ukraine. The area had been closed to swimming for safety reasons. Oleh Kiper, regional governor, said in a statement that "being in unchecked waters is fatally dangerous" in the area around Odesa.

Mines have washed up on beaches as far away as Georgia, on the far southeastern corner of the Black Sea, and have been repeatedly spotted in the shipping lanes. Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania have a joint agreement on naval cooperation to find and clear these hazards to shipping.