Russian drones damage civilian rescue tugboat Sapfir in Odesa Oblast port
Russian drones struck a port in Odesa Oblast on Sunday, 13 September, damaging the civilian search-and-rescue tugboat Sapfir. No casualties were reported. Ukraine's Ministry of Restoration, Infrastructure and Transport called the strike a gross violation of international humanitarian and maritime law and said it would notify the International Maritime Organization and international partners.
Key points
- Russian drones struck a port in Odesa Oblast on Sunday, 13 September, damaging the civilian search-and-rescue tugboat Sapfir.
- No people were killed or injured in the attack, according to preliminary information.
- The Sapfir bore clear civilian SAR markings in accordance with international maritime conventions and performed exclusively search-and-rescue functions.
- Ukraine's Ministry of Restoration, Infrastructure and Transport characterized the strike as a gross violation of international humanitarian and maritime law.
- Ukraine said it will inform the International Maritime Organization and international partners and demand an appropriate response.
- The Sapfir is operated by the state enterprise Marine Search and Rescue Service and is registered in the port of Odesa.
- The same vessel was seized by a Russian military ship near Snake Island on 26 February 2022 while evacuating wounded Ukrainian defenders; its crew was released in March 2022 and the ship returned to Ukraine in April 2022.
Why it matters
The strike hit a clearly marked civilian rescue vessel, not a military target, which is why Kyiv framed it as a breach of international humanitarian and maritime law. Ukraine's plan to raise the incident at the International Maritime Organization gives it a diplomatic track parallel to the military one. The Sapfir's history — seized by Russia in 2022 during a humanitarian evacuation near Snake Island and now hit again — underscores the recurring vulnerability of Odesa-region port and civilian maritime infrastructure.
What happened
Russian drones attacked a port in Odesa Oblast on Sunday, 13 September, damaging the civilian search-and-rescue tugboat Sapfir. Ukraine's Ministry of Restoration, Infrastructure and Transport reported the strike and said no one was killed or injured. The ministry noted that the vessel carried clear SAR markings under international maritime conventions and performed only civilian search-and-rescue functions, and it characterized the attack as a gross violation of international humanitarian and maritime law. Ukraine said it would notify the International Maritime Organization and international partners and demand an appropriate response. The same day, Russia also carried out a massive combined attack on Odesa city itself, damaging apartment buildings, private houses and other civilian infrastructure.
Background
The Sapfir is a diesel-electric rescue tug of Project 1454, type Napolehlyvyi, built in 1988, registered in the port of Odesa and operated by the Ukrainian state enterprise Marine Search and Rescue Service. On 26 February 2022 a Russian military ship seized the vessel near Snake Island (Zmiinyi) while it was heading there to evacuate wounded and killed Ukrainian defenders. Twenty-one civilians were on board — 17 crew members and 4 civilians including a doctor and clergy — and all were taken prisoner; the captain later reported that the crew was being held at gunpoint by "little green men." The captives were held in what the investigation described as inhumane conditions and taken to occupied Crimea for interrogation, before being released in prisoner exchanges between March and May 2022. The Sapfir itself was towed to Crimea and returned to Ukrainian control in April 2022, arriving in Izmail on 11 April after being towed from the Romanian port of Sulina.