Russia said on Sunday that overnight strikes by its forces had hit three cargo vessels it said were carrying military goods for Ukraine, along with two electricity substations. The announcement came as Ukrainian and Russian delegations prepare for US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi.
The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces struck a container ship delivering weapons and military equipment to the Black Sea port of Odesa, and another vessel in the nearby port of Chornomorsk, which it said had delivered dual-use cargo. A third vessel, a dry cargo ship hit south-west of Odesa, was carrying weapons and military equipment for Ukraine’s armed forces, according to the ministry.
Reuters could not independently verify the ministry’s claims, and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine. The claims about the ships’ cargoes rest solely on the Russian Defence Ministry’s account.
The ministry also said it had hit two power substations in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk and Zhytomyr regions, which it said supplied power to military-industrial enterprises. Ukrainian power company DTEK said the overnight attack on energy facilities in Dnipropetrovsk had left more than 600,000 people without electricity. “Important energy facilities in the region were damaged in an overnight attack,” the company said on Telegram.
The strikes are the latest in a sustained Russian campaign against Ukraine’s energy network as winter approaches, and they landed just before the first trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States since February. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday he had spoken to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the talks, adding that India was ready to mediate in establishing corridors for grain exports in the Black Sea, which he said were blocked by Russian attacks.
Security guarantees are expected to be central to the Abu Dhabi talks. Ukraine is seeking NATO-style guarantees and rejects territorial concessions, while Russia is demanding Ukrainian withdrawal from four regions it claims and permanent exclusion from NATO.
Sources: Reuters, “Russia says hit power substations in Ukraine and three ships in Black Sea” and “Zelenskiy speaks to Modi ahead of Ukraine-Russia talks“.
