Last Updated on June 20, 2026, 12:50 PM AST by Anthony Morris
One crew member was killed and five were injured after Russia attacked the flying the flags of St. Kitts and Nevis and Panama. Russia attacked both the vessels with drones in the Black Sea on Friday 19, June 2026.
The vessels were leaving the Ukrainian port when they were struck by the Russian drones. In St. Kitts and Nevis vessel three crew members sustained mild injuries and in the Panama vessel a crew member was killed and the other two were injured. The Ukrainian Navy is working on evacuating the affected individuals in the attack.
Oleksii Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for Development of Communities and Territories expressed sympathy to the deceased family and shared the incident information online on Telegram.
According to Ukrainian Officials, the attacks reflect Russia’s ongoing efforts of disrupting Black Sea trade routes, which affects the global food supply system. The officials said, “This is yet another proof that Russia is waging a war against freedom of navigation, international trade, and global food security”.
Minister of Foreign Affair, Dmytro Kuleba called the incident an act of terrorism and he further stated that individuals around the world should not accept it as a normal incident as in this one crew member was killed and four others were injured.
According to sources, in a month Russia increased the numbers of attacks on commercial ships and wounded seafarers. In recent two cargo ships near the Odesa were attacked on 10 June. In addition to the attack, they damaged three more ships last month along with a Chinese ship also struck by a Russian drone.
The Ukrainian officials also accused Russia of attacking the two Rescue Service and Maritime Search boats which were working on providing aid to vessels in the sea corridor.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
