Ukraine strikes cargo ships and admits Romania drone blast

Ukraine says it struck five ships carrying illegal cargo in the Sea of Azov and in coastal waters of Russian-occupied territories. Ukraine strikes cargo ships and admits Romania drone blast Watch: Moment TV reporter runs for cover after naval drone explodes in Romania Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. A woman with ginger shoulder length hair holds her hand close to her head Ukraine says it has struck five ships carrying illegal cargo in the Sea of Azov and in coastal waters of Russian-occupied territories. The Ukrainian drone forces commander said the vessels were involved in "stealing" Ukrainian grain, as well as transferring military cargo and fuel. The strikes come a day after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky offered face-to-face talks with Vladimir Putin on ending the war, an offer the Russian leader rejected while visiting St Petersburg for an economic forum. Meanwhile, Ukraine has confirmed one of its naval drones exploded off Romania's coast on Friday. No injuries were reported in the blast. Zelensky wrote alongside his latest offer of peace talks that Russians had become tired of Ukrainian drone and missile attacks, petrol shortages and rising prices that the war, now in its fifth year, had brought. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted military and energy infrastructure within Russia in a bid to limit its war-fighting capability. Putin's appearance in St Petersburg comes a day after Kyiv had launched a drone attack on the outskirts of the city. Azerbaijan's foreign ministry confirmed five of its citizens had been killed in attacks on two of the vessels in the Sea of Azov. It did not specify who had been behind the attacks and noted that the ships did not belong to Azerbaijan. Earlier, Robert Brovdi, Ukraine's drone commander, announced that five "illegally loitering vessels" had been struck overnight in the ports of Mariupol, Berdyansk and in the coastal waters of what Ukraine calls the "temporarily occupied territories" - parts of the country that Russia currently controls. He said the names of the five ships, which included cargo vessels and tankers, were painted over and their radars were turned off "with the aim of quietly stealing Ukrainian grain", as well as "transferring military cargo and fuel". The Azeri foreign ministry named two of the ships as the Nastra and the Circon. Ukraine's state emergency services posted pictures of the attack on a dairy factory in the Kyiv region Black smoke is seen rising from a building, where some of the rooms are exposed and flames can be seen inside. A car is on fire in front and another car is seen in the foreground. In Ukraine, at least 13 people have been killed and more than 70 others have been injured in the past day, according to local officials. Among them are four people who died after Russian drones struck a dairy factory outside the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, according to the regional head, and a 35-year-old woman in a drone attack on a petrol station in Kherson, local officials said. Meanwhile, a naval drone exploded in the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta on Friday. The country's defence ministry said the drone had self-detonated near an oil terminal without causing any casualties, although authorities have said it caused considerable damage to a ship and warehouses. In a separate incident, Ukraine confirmed one of its naval drones exploded off Romania's coast on Friday A large cloud of dark smoke is seen from a distance rising from a port. Boats, cranes and silos can be seen around it. Adrian Teodor Picoiu, Constanta's top official, told G4Media that "information from the Ukrainian side" was that the drone was part of a group of five, with a second one exploding in Ukraine. Ukraine later confirmed one of its naval drones had been involved, saying it had been knocked off course by Russian electronic interference. Moscow has yet to comment. The remaining three drones were unaccounted for but officials said there was no further risk. No reason has yet been offered for why the drones would be in Romanian waters. Romanian President Nicusor Dan wrote on X that it was the second "significant security incident this week", after a stray mine was discovered on a beach near the village of Vama Veche, more than 50km (31 miles) north of Constanta. It also comes a week after two people were injured when a drone hit a Romanian apartment block in the eastern city of Galati - close to the border with Ukraine. Romanian officials said they had confirmed it was a Russian drone but Moscow said "accusations" of its involvement were "unsubstantiated". A BBC map titled “Areas of Russian military control in Ukraine” shows Ukraine and surrounding countries in Eastern Europe. Ukraine is displayed centrally in white, bordered by Belarus to the north, Russia to the east, and Moldova to the southwest. The Black Sea appears in blue along Ukraine’s southern coast. Areas shaded in pink/red indicate regions under Russian military control, primarily concentrated in the east and south of Ukraine, including much of the Donetsk region, a southern corridor stretching westward toward Kherson, and the entire Crimea peninsula, which is labelled and outlined. Thin orange lines indicate areas of claimed Russian control, while red diagonal stripes mark zones of limited Russian military control, especially along the active front line in eastern Ukraine. Major cities are labelled with black dots, including Kyiv (central north), Lviv (west), Kharkiv (northeast), Donetsk (east), Zaporizhzhia(southeast-central), Kherson (south), Odesa (southwest coast), and Kursk in Russia. Country names (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova) are written in large capital letters. A small inset globe in the top-left corner highlights Ukraine’s location in Europe. A scale bar in the lower-left corner shows distances of 100 km and 100 miles. The legend at the bottom explains the color coding: Pink/red: Russian military control Red stripes: Limited Russian military control Orange: Claimed Russian control Black outline: Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 A source note reads: “Source: ISW and AEI's Critical Threats Project (21:00 GMT, 28 May)”, with a BBC logo in the bottom-right corner. Zelensky told Putin in an open letter that it would be "wrong to simply wait" until the war in Europe became the focus of US attention once more, adding peace could only come "through direct engagement". He also called for a full ceasefire for the duration of proposed negotiations - something Putin ruled out earlier on Thursday. The Kremlin confirmed it had received the letter. Putin said on Friday that he currently saw no reason to meet Zelensky. The Russian president has previously said compromises would be needed for peace to be achieved. His longstanding position has been that Ukraine should withdraw from four regions largely occupied by Russia - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia - and give up its efforts to join Nato. Ukraine has ruled out ceding territory, saying it would embolden Russia to invade again, as it had in 2022 when it launched its full-scale war eight years after illegally annexing Crimea. The EU, France and the US are among those that have backed Zelensky's calls for a meeting. Zelenksy looks pensive as he focuses his attention to the right of frame while he stands at a podium against a light blue bokeh background, on the podium are two microphones and a glass of water. Zelensky proposes face-to-face talks in open letter to Putin Forensic investigators examine the location of impact after a Russian drone struck an apartment building in Galati, eastern Romania 'No-one feels safe now': Residents of Romanian city hit by drone share fears Incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is seeking a third term despite falling domestic support. The Russian president's refusal comes after his Ukrainian counterpart wrote an open letter calling for face-to-face talks. Ukraine's president tells the Russian leader that only "direct engagement" between the two countries could end the war, with the US focused on Iran. Some 18 Republicans joined the Democrats to back the measure, after a smaller group broke ranks on another vote in recent days. At least 10 people have been injured in the attacks, according to Russian-backed officials. Johann Wadephul said it was "no secret" Russia had stirred up sentiment against Germany over its support for Ukraine. The bus was hit in the eastern Donetsk region, an official says. Several long-range drones struck oil storage facilities near the city, days before Vladimir Putin is due to address the event.