Ukraine's fortress cities under fire as Russia bids to seize rest of Donbas

On September 9, two Azerbaijani nationals were killed and two others injured when unidentified drones struck the foreign cargo vessel Tedy. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported the incident but did not disclose the attackers' identity or the precise location of the attack. The attack took place amid ongoing Russian assaults on civilian ships in the Black Sea, near Odesa Oblast in Ukraine.

According to the ministry, the injured Azerbaijani citizens were transported to a hospital in Chornomorsk, situated within Odesa Oblast. The Russian Defense Ministry announced on September 10 that two dry cargo vessels bound for Odesa and a tugboat had been targeted over the preceding day by Russia, claiming the vessels were carrying supplies for the Ukrainian army.

Kyiv has not commented on these alleged assaults, and their veracity could not be confirmed by The Kyiv Independent. The incidents come amid escalating hostility between Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea since the spring and summer. In July, Ukraine initiated Operation Molochka, targeting Russia's covert fleet in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, aiming to isolate the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula.

Turkey had previously urged Moscow and Kyiv to halt attacks on vessels in August, following a series of strikes involving Turkish-flagged ships. Despite calls for de-escalation, Russia has shown no inclination to ease tensions. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, when questioned on September 10 about the potential impact of ongoing attacks on Russia-Turkey relations, stated that they could not affect them.

He alleged that previous Ukrainian attacks on Russian economic facilities had "opened Pandora's box" and threatened that commercial vessels used to transport weapons would be destroyed. Since civilian shipping from Ukrainian ports in Odesa Oblast resumed following the 2022 Black Sea grain deal, Russia has persistently targeted civilian vessels in the corridor, including sizable ships carrying Ukrainian grain to countries in the Global South.