Russia's state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom announced that Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) struck the container ship "Yanina" in the early hours of Saturday while it was sailing near the port of Novorossiysk in the Black Sea.
As a result of the attack, the vessel sank and the 17-member crew had to abandon ship. Rosatom announced that all crew members were rescued and are in good health.
In a statement on Rosatom's Telegram account, the company said the ship was carrying civilian cargo such as frozen food and construction materials, and was not transporting nuclear substances.
Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev described the attack as 'piracy and maritime banditry'.
Ukraine has not yet made a statement regarding the attack. Kyiv has previously accused Russia of using the Black Sea to transport goods such as sanctioned oil.
Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, both sides have carried out attacks targeting civilian ships in the Black Sea. While Ukraine has conducted operations against Russian-flagged vessels, Russia has launched missile strikes on Ukrainian port infrastructure and ships approaching ports; Kyiv considers these attacks war crimes.