Russia Says Ship in Azov Sea Hit By Kyiv as Sides Swap Attacks

Russia said drone debris struck a foreign-flagged cargo vessel in a bay of the Azov Sea overnight while Moscow's forces attacked several Ukrainian regions as the war showing no signs of slowing down. The bulk carrier was located several kilometers off the coast of Taganrog when it was damaged by fragments from an intercepted drone, sparking a fire that's since been contained, Yury Slyusar, governor of Russia's Rostov region, said in a Telegram post. The port of Taganrog handles shipments of grain, metals, coal and other industrial cargo. The overnight attack on the city killed one person and injured four others, the governor said. Separately, a missile strike triggered a fire at warehouse facilities belonging to a logistics company, he said. A drone alert remains in effect across the region. Russia and Ukraine have intensified attacks on each other in recent weeks. Hopes for a diplomatic solution to end hostilities triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have been set back, with the war in Iran consuming the attention of the US President Donald Trump and his negotiators. Russia's defenses repelled 85 Ukrainian drones in about a dozen regions overnight, Moscow's defense ministry said. Two drone hubs and pre-flight preparation sites for Shahed UAVs were struck in Russia's Bryansk and Kursk regions, according to a post by Robert Brovdi, a Ukrainian drone unit commander known as Madyar. Tolyatti, a city on the Volga River in Russia's Samara region, came under attack with drones targeting an industrial enterprise, regional Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev indicated in his post without providing details. A drone also hit the roof of a multi-storey residential building, he said. The city is home to AvtoVAZ, Russia's largest passenger car manufacturer, as well as nitrogen fertilizer producers TogliattiAzot and KuibyshevAzot. Such fertilizer plants often also produce explosives. Ukraine has stepped up strikes on Russian fertilizer operations as well as refineries and other oil infrastructure, even as higher global prices driven by the Iran war boost revenues for Russian commodity exporters. Kyiv's forces overnight shot down or suppressed 260 out of 286 Russian drones, with 11 UAVs striking targets at ten locations and debris falling at six sites, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said. A Russian attack on northeast Ukraine damaged a high-rise residential building in Sumy, injuring 11 people, local authorities said. Kyiv also came under attack, with debris from intercepted drones sparking a fire on the roof of a four-storey office building, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The overnight strikes followed a larger drone and missile barrage fired at Ukraine on Friday, killing at least eight people.