Russian Drone Hits Chinese Cargo Ship in Black Sea

Ukraine has claimed that a Russian drone struck a Chinese cargo ship in the Black Sea waters. The incident took place a day before President Vladimir Putin was set to fly to Beijing for a meeting with President Xi Jinping.

Reports of the Russian drone attack on the Chinese cargo ship, as reported by AFP on Monday (18/5/2026), were delivered directly by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky via a social media statement on Monday local time. “Drones hit Odesa… and one UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) hit a Chinese vessel. Russia could not have been unaware of which ships were in the sea,” Zelensky stated.

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy separately told AFP that no crew members—all of whom are Chinese nationals—were injured in the drone attack, and the vessel has since resumed its voyage. The Ukrainian Navy, in a statement reported by Turkiye Today, identified the Chinese cargo ship hit by the Russian drone attack as the KSL Deyang, which is owned by Beijing and sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands.

According to the Ukrainian Navy, the drone attack occurred off the coast of Ukraine in the early hours of Monday (1s/5) local time. It was noted that a fire broke out on the cargo ship, but the crew managed to extinguish the flames. Kyiv authorities have questioned Moscow’s motive for targeting the Chinese ship and crew, particularly as Putin is scheduled to visit Beijing this week.

The KSL Deyang was reportedly en route to the port of Pivdennyi in the Odesa region, Ukraine, to collect a shipment of iron ore concentrate when it was struck by the drone. At the time of the attack, the cargo ship was sailing without any cargo, and the reported damage was minimal.

“It is interesting to know what motivated Russia when they decided to ‘target’ a Chinese merchant ship with ‘Shahed’ drones in our waters tonight,” said Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy. “There were no casualties, but this is something new; a ‘big mistake’ has been made, hasn’t it?”

In a separate statement, Pletenchuk offered a sarcastic remark towards Russia: “Deliberately attacking a Chinese ship with Chinese crew before a trip to China. Is this what Moscow calls diplomacy?”

The Russian authorities or the Kremlin have not yet provided a direct response to the report. The Chinese government has also not yet commented.