Rosatom cargo ship sinks in the Black Sea after a Ukrainian drone attack, with all 17 crew rescued

Alexei Likhachev, head of Russia's state corporation Rosatom, said on Saturday, 1 August 2026 (10 Mordad 1405), that two Ukrainian drones attacked a civilian vessel belonging to the company in the Black Sea in the early hours of that day and that the ship sank after the damage it sustained. He said the vessel was carrying goods including frozen food and construction materials, and that all 17 crew members survived. Likhachev described the action as "piracy".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the attack in a message on X, saying Ukrainian defence forces had hit a Russian container ship named Yanina, sailing under the Russian flag, which he said had a capacity of more than 100,000 tonnes. He claimed the vessel was under sanctions.

In recent weeks Russia and Ukraine have both stepped up attacks on ships each side says are aiding the other's war effort, turning the Black Sea into one of the main arenas of the confrontation.