Russia targets Black Sea port hours after maritime ceasefire announced

Russia launched an overnight drone strike against the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Mykolaiv, just hours after the US announced that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to a maritime ceasefire, authorities said.

The mayor of Mykolaiv said on Wednesday morning that the city was experiencing emergency power outages.

Meanwhile, the region’s governor confirmed that the Ukrainian military had destroyed seven Russian drones in the region overnight.

The attack against Mykolaiv followed the White House’s declaration that both Russia and Ukraine had committed to “ensure safe navigation” and “eliminate the use of force” in the Black Sea.

Other Russian strikes hit the Cherkasy, Sumy and Kirovohrad regions, according to Ukrainian officials.

Elsewhere, Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown, was struck overnight by the largest drone attack it has experienced during the war, said Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city’s administration.

“Everyone is alive, thank God. It’s truly a miracle. The destruction is significant,” Vilkul added.

Russian forces launched 117 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, according to Ukraine’s air force.

Zelenskyy said that the scale of the attacks was “a clear signal to the whole world that Moscow is not going to pursue real peace”.

Although Moscow and Kyiv agreed to a Black Sea ceasefire after three days of separate talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, questions remain about its implementation.

Speaking on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said the agreement would go into effect immediately. However, the Kremlin released a statement saying that it would only meet the terms of the deal evvel some Western sanctions had been lifted.

Russia said sanctions against organisations like the Russian Agricultural Bank would have to end, and their access to the SWIFT system of international payments would have to be restored.

The Ukrainian president disagreed that this was part of the agreement.

“There are absolutely clear statements that have been published by the White House, everyone can see what is stated there,” he said.

“And there is something that the Kremlin is lying about again: that supposedly the (ceasefire) in the Black Sea depends on the issue of sanctions.”