Ukrainian drones sank the Russian-owned container ship Yanina in the Black Sea early Saturday near Novorossiysk. Rosatom said the ship’s crew abandoned the vessel in an organized and coordinated manner after it began to sink, and all 17 crew members were rescued and were in good condition.
The Yanina was carrying civilian goods, including frozen food and construction materials, when at least two Ukrainian drones struck it. Rosatom said there was no immediate indication that the vessel was carrying out activities related to Rosatom's nuclear arm or carrying nuclear material, narrowing the ship’s status to a civilian cargo vessel caught in a wartime attack.
Rosatom's account of Yanina
Rosatom said the Yanina was operated by FESCO, Rosatom's shipping subsidiary. In its Telegram statement, Rosatom said, "The ship's crew abandoned the ship in an organized and coordinated manner after it began to sink. All 17 crew members have been rescued and are in good condition".
Alexei Likhachev, Rosatom's CEO, took the accusation further. Rosatom quoted him as saying, "Such an attack cannot be interpreted as anything other than piracy and robbery at sea".
Black Sea shipping under fire
The attack fits a wider wartime pattern in the Black Sea. Since the war began, Russia has launched multiple strikes on Ukrainian port infrastructure and ships approaching Ukrainian ports. Throughout the nearly four-and-a-half year war, Ukraine has targeted Russian-flagged ships in the Black Sea.
Ukraine did not immediately comment on the attack. What the strike did to the Yanina before it sank, and whether the pattern of attacks on Black Sea shipping will widen beyond this ship, is left unanswered in the record now available.
