Drone strikes Turkish tanker in Ukraine's Odesa, where US natural gas will go

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A drone struck a Turkish-flagged tanker and set it ablaze on Monday in southern Ukraine’s Odesa region, officials said, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a deal to import U.S. liquefied natural gas through the area.

The MT Orinda was hit during the offloading of liquefied petroleum gas at Izmail port, Turkey’s Directorate for Maritime Affairs said. All 16 crew on board evacuated and no one was hurt, it said.

Russia has used drones, missiles and artillery to repeatedly batter the Odesa region, especially its Black Sea ports, since its full-scale invasion of its neighbor nearly four years ago. There was no immediate Russia comment Monday.

Ukrainian officials didn’t comment specifically on the tanker, although regional military administration head Oleh Kiper said Russian drones attacked the Odesa region overnight and damaged energy and port infrastructure in several cities.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-tanker-drone-fire-ea4ef368e58ef0936d24b27cd56073af