Five Azerbaijani crew members were killed and three others wounded when Ukrainian drones struck two dry cargo ships in Taganrog Bay in the early hours of 5 June, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Friday.
The two vessels — the MV Natra and the MV Zirkon — were travelling in ballast from Turkey to the Russian port of Rostov-on-Don to load grain when they came under attack. Both ships were operating under flags of convenience and were not owned by the Azerbaijani state, the ministry said, though all 26 crew members aboard the two ships held Azerbaijani nationality under private employment contracts.
Natra, registered under the flag of Belize, was struck by 4 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at 00:45 Moscow time. Two crew members were killed. The remaining sailors extinguished the fire themselves, and the vessel stayed afloat, though it lost propulsion and required towing.
Zirkon was hit just over an hour later, at 01:55 Moscow time. Four strikes concentrated near the vessel’s superstructure killed 3 crew members and
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