1 dead in Russian hits on ships in Black Sea

KIEV

Russian drones hit two civilian ships in the Black Sea late on June 18, killing one person and wounding five others, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said on June 19.

One struck a Panamanian-flagged vessel, killing a crew member and wounding two others, while the other struck a ship flying the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, injuring three, Kuleba said.

“This is yet another proof that Russia is waging a war against freedom of navigation, international trade, and global food security,” he said.

The ships resumed their journeys following the strikes, the governor of Ukraine’s southern Odesa region said.

Russian attacks continued in the morning, killing an eight-year-old girl in the central-eastern city of Pavlograd, said Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha. In the eastern Kharkiv region, ten people, including four children, were wounded, Ukraine’s emergency service said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on European allies on June 18 to step up help for Kiev to down Russian ballistic missiles and speed up purchases of U.S. weaponry.

“We have the tools, and they are strong enough to put Russia on a path where diplomacy becomes the only choice,” Zelensky told Kiev’s backers at a meeting in NATO’s Brussels headquarters.

Russia has targeted Ukrainian-bound ships throughout its nearly four-year invasion, part of what Kiev has called a campaign of “terror” aimed at destroying its economy.