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সহকারী অধ্যাপক
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০৫ আগস্ট, ২০২৩ ১১:৩১ অপরাহ্ণ
সহকারী অধ্যাপক
Ukrainian
drones hit a Russian tanker near Crimea
Ukrainian drones hit a Russian
tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late Friday night, according to Russian
officials and video circulating on social media, AP reports.
The strike was the second sea attack involving drones in one day, after Ukraine
struck a major Russian port earlier on Friday.
As Kyiv’s naval capabilities grow, the Black Sea is becoming an increasingly
important battleground in the war.
Three weeks ago, Moscow withdrew from a key export agreement that allowed
Ukraine to ship millions of tons of grain across the Black Sea for sale on
world markets. In the wake of that withdrawal, Russia carried out repeated
strikes on Ukrainian ports, including Odesa.
An official with Ukraine’s Security
Service confirmed to The Associated Press that the service was behind the
attack on the tanker, which was transporting fuel for Russian forces. A sea
drone, filled with 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of TNT, was used for the attack,
added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to give official statements.
“The Sig tanker ... suffered a hole in the engine room near the waterline on
the starboard side, presumably as a result of a sea drone attack,” Russia’s
Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport wrote on Telegram, adding that
there were no casualties among the 11 crew members.
Vladimir Rogov, a Kremlin-installed official in Ukraine’s partially occupied
southern Zaporizhzhia region, said several members of the ship’s crew were
wounded because of broken glass.
Without specifying that Ukraine was responsible for the drone strike, Vasyl
Malyuk, who leads Ukraine’s Security Service, said that “such special
operations are conducted in the territorial waters of Ukraine and are
completely legal.” Any such explosions, he said, are “an absolutely logical and
effective step with regard to the enemy.”
The attack briefly halted traffic on the Kerch Bridge, as well as ferry
transport.
Tugboats were deployed to assist the tanker, which is under United States
sanctions for helping provide jet fuel to Russian forces fighting in Syria,
according to Russia’s Tass news agency.
Ukraine's earlier strike on Novorossiysk halted maritime traffic for a few
hours and marked the first time a commercial Russian port has been targeted in
the nearly 18-month-old conflict. The port has a naval base, shipbuilding yards
and an oil terminal, and is key for exports. It lies about 110 kilometers
(about 60 miles) east of Crimea.
Elsewhere, a two-day summit on finding a peaceful settlement to the war kicked
off in Saudi Arabia.
Senior officials from around 40 countries – but not Russia – will aim to agree
key principles on how to end the conflict.
“It is very important because in such matters as food security, the fate of
millions of people in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world directly
depends on how fast the world will be in implementing the Peace Formula,”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said of the summit. “I am grateful to
Saudi Arabia for this platform for negotiations.”
The main Ukrainian envoy to the
summit in Jeddah, chief Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak, spoke of the
talks on Friday night in a television interview published on his Telegram
account: “I expect that the conversation will be difficult, but behind us is
truth, behind us goodness,” he said.