Russia reports strike on ship carrying Western weapons to Ukraine

The Russian military has hit a ship that was transporting Western-made munitions to Ukraine, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said. It added that it has conducted another series of strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

In a statement on Saturday, the ministry claimed that Russian warplanes, drones, missiles, and artillery forces destroyed two Ukrainian ammo depots and “struck a dry-cargo carrier with missiles and ammunition, provided to the Kiev regime by Western countries.”

Officials did not say how badly the ship was damaged or where the attack took place, though Ukraine relies mainly on the Black Sea and Danube routes to receive sea shipments.

The ministry also said Russian forces conducted strikes using high-precision weapons and drones on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure linked to Kiev’s defense industrial complex as well as UAV workshops, and military deployment areas. “The objectives of the strike have been achieved. All designated targets have been hit,” it added.

While Ukrainian officials have not commented on Moscow’s claim that it hit a dry cargo ship, local media overnight reported explosions in Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Sumy, Krivoy Rog, and several other cities.

Russia has been targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since Kiev’s attack on the Crimean Bridge in autumn 2022, with officials in Kiev and the West saying the strikes have destroyed around half of the country’s electricity capacity. Moscow has maintained that it never targets civilians.