The Russian occupation authorities reported that a Volgo-Balt-class cargo ship sank in the Sea of Azov after being struck by drones.
TASS news agency reported that the vessel was carrying grain. Two crew members out of 11 were killed immediately in the attack.
The remaining nine crew members, including one fatality, were evacuated in a lifeboat and reached the Kherson region near the village of Shchaslyvtseve.
Volgo-Balt ships have repeatedly been documented transporting stolen Ukrainian grain from temporarily occupied territories. Based on where the sailors were rescued, this vessel was likely leaving one of Ukraine’s occupied ports.
Typically, these dry cargo ships, with AIS tracking turned off, move stolen grain from occupied Ukrainian ports to Russia for transshipment.
The grain is then redirected to third countries under the guise of exports from Russia.
The Ukrainian Defense Intelligence has tracked six Volgo-Balt vessels that regularly enter occupied ports. Four — Volgo-Balt 106, 216, 230, and 237 — were documented transporting stolen Ukrainian grain.
In August 2025, the Defense Intelligence drones struck the Russian Project 21631 Buyan-M missile ship in the Sea of Azov, a platform carrying Kalibr cruise missiles.
