Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow ‘strikes Chinese cargo ship’ day before Putin-Xi summit

It comes after Russian forces in the past week have downed 3,124 Ukrainian drones, with more than 1,000 drones destroyed yesterday alone

• Bookmark
• CommentsGo to comments

Bookmark popover

Removed from bookmarks

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Russia has attacked a Chinese ship headed for a Ukrainian port, Volodymyr Zelensky has said, a move which could anger Beijing one day before a summit between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

The Russian drone struck the KSL DEYANG vessel flying under Marshall Islands flag off the coast of Ukraine early on Monday, a source earlier told Reuters news agency.

The vessel was did not contain cargo and was bound for Ukraine's Pivdennyi port in the Odesa region where it was to load iron ore concentrate. Although a fire was sparked, the vessel was not seriously damaged and no one was injured.

“The Russians could not have been unaware of what vessel was at sea,” Mr Zelensky said.

Xi and Putin exchanged “congratulatory letters” on Sunday ahead of the latter’s visit to Beijing, just four days after Donald Trump left China after a high-stakes summit.

It comes after Russia faced one of its biggest attacks of the year as at least 3,124 Ukrainian drones were intercepted and destroyed in the past week, the country’s defence minister said this morning.

Volodymyr Zelensky said the attacks are “entirely justified” in a post on X.

• Suspected Ukrainian sea drone crashed on Greek island ‘after malfunction’
• Moscow pounds cities with over 1,500 drones in largest two-day aerial attack since war began
• Latvian prime minister resigns after controversy over stray Ukrainian drones
• Shock in Ukraine as corruption court arrests Zelensky’s former right-hand man

Key Points

• Russian drone strikes Chinese cargo vessel bound for Ukraine
• Xi and Putin to hold two-day summit in Beijing days after Trump leaves
• Belarus holds nuclear training drills with Russian weapons
• Russia says it destroyed over 3,000 Ukrainian drones last week
• War Briefing: What we know on the 1,544th day of the war in Ukraine
• Russia attacks Ukraine's Odesa and Dnipro with drones and missiles overnight

Kyiv couple killed in a fierce Russian airstrike hoped to start a family, mourners say

Like many Ukrainians, Maryna Homeniuk fled her homeland after Russia's full-scale invasion four years ago. She managed to complete her degree in the Czech Republic, adding Vietnamese to her impressive list of languages, before returning home the following year and meeting her beloved, Yurii Orlov.

Homeniuk and Orlov, who captained the Kyiv Floorball Club after playing hockey for teams in the Ukrainian capital, were among the 24 people killed Thursday during a terrifying wave of Russian airstrikes that Ukrainian military officials described as the biggest barrage of the war. A cruise missile flattened their apartment building.

On Saturday, friends and family paid their final respects to Homeniuk, a 24-year-old English teacher. They had hoped to pay tribute to Orlov, too, but his body wasn't ready for burial yet.

“She was a very caring person. I feel very sorry, because she had so many dreams. She worked with children and wanted to have children herself someday, when times were safer,” her friend Olesia Yukhnovych said.

Read more here:

Kyiv couple killed in Russian airstrike hoped to start a family, mourners say

Russia attacks Panama-flagged civilian vessel in Black Sea, says Odesa governor

Russia attacked a Panama-flagged civilian vessel heading to Ukraine's Chornomorsk port in the southern Odesa region on the Black Sea early on Monday, the regional governor said.

It is one of several ships destined for Ukrainian ports that have been struck by Russian forces in the past day.

The vessel was damaged in the attack, which caused a fire, Governor Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that no one had been injured in the incident and that the crew had extinguished the fire.

The vessel has continued on its way, the governor added.

Moscow says Ukraine peace process can resume

Moscow expects the Russia-Ukraine peace process to be resumed but it is currently paused, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov was commenting on remarks by Donald Trump that deadly Russian strikes on Ukraine could set back peace efforts.

Trump suggested to reporters on Friday that a Russian missile strike on a Kyiv apartment building that killed 24 people, including three children, had delayed efforts to reach peace in the four-year conflict.

Peskov said attention should be paid to ongoing strikes by Ukraine on civilian targets in Russia. Moscow faced its biggest drone attack in over a year at the weekend, with at least three people killed in the wider region around the capital.\

Russia has 'serious expectations' for Putin's trip to China, says Kremlin

Russia has "very serious expectations" for president Vladimir Putin's trip to China this week, the Kremlin said on Monday.

The two sides will use it to develop their privileged partnership, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Putin is to visit Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday, arriving just days after Donald Trump departed the Chinese capital.

The Russian delegation will include relevant deputy prime ministers, government ministers and company heads, Peskov told reporters.

Xi and Putin to hold two-day summit in Beijing days after Trump leaves

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are set to hold a two day summit in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday, just four days after US president Donald Trump left the Chinese capital.

The pair have exchanged “congratulatory letters” ahead of the visit on Sunday, where they are likely to deepen their strong economic and political ties.

Xi said the bilateral cooperation between Moscow and Beijing had “continuously deepened and solidified”, with 2026 marking the 30th anniversary of their strategic partnership, Chinese state media said.

The Global Times, the Chinese state media tabloid, said Beijing is “fast emerging as the focal point of global diplomacy”, the visits of Trump and Putin show.

But the cooperation between Moscow and China remains a significant cause of concern in the West, with Beijing’s economic support helping to sustain the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Belarus holds nuclear training drills with Russian weapons

Belarus has held training drills for the Russian nuclear weapons held on its territory, the defence ministry said.

"The aim of the exercise is to improve the personnel's level of training, to test the Airborne Forces' readiness to carry out their tasks, and to organise combat operations from unplanned areas," the defence ministry said in a statement.

It said the training was not directed against any other state and did not pose security threats in the region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear that Moscow retains control of nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus.

Unclear why Russians attacked Chinese vessel, says Ukraine navy spokesperson

As we’ve been reporting, a Russian drone attacked a Chinese-owned cargo ship that was headed for a Ukrainian port, according to Reuters.

We’ve now heard from a spokesperson for the Ukrainian navy, who says it is unclear why Russian forces launched this attack in the Black Sea.

"It is unclear what the Russians were thinking when they struck a Chinese merchant vessel in our sea last night with a Shahed drone,” Dmytro Pletenchuk writes in a post on Facebook.

He questioned whether the strike was a “monstrous mistake”.

In pictures: Damage in Dnipro following Russian drone attack

Russian drone hits civilian vessel under Guinea-Bissau flag, says Kyiv

A Russian drone hit a civilian vessel under a Guinea-Bissau flag that was heading to Ukraine's port hub of Greater Odesa, the Ukrainian seaport authority has said.

A small fire broke out on the vessel, which the crew quickly extinguished, it said on Monday.

According to preliminary information, no one was injured in the attack and the vessel resumed its journey, it added.

One killed and 30 injured in overnight Russian attack on Ukraine

At least one person was killed and more than 30 injured after Russia attacked Ukraine with drones, airstrikes and shelled overnight, targeting cities like Odesa in the south and Dnipro in the southeast.

The drones hit residential ⁠buildings, a school and ​a kindergarten ⁠in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, Serhiy Lysak, the head of the local ⁠military administration, said on Telegram.

An 11-year-old boy and a 59-year-old man were injured in the attack, he added.

A missile attack on Dnipro injured 18 people, among them a ‌girl of two and a boy of 10, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram.

In the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, three people were injured in the overnight attacks, governor Ivan Fedorov said.

Attacks in the southern region of Kherson killed one person and injured nine, governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.

More about

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies