April 17 (Reuters) – A Russian overnight drone attack damaged port infrastructure in Ukraine’s largest Danube river port Izmail and one drone strayed into Romanian territory, Ukrainian and Romanian authorities said on Friday.
The port lies on the southwestern tip of Ukraine facing Romanian territory across the Danube. It has become an important and frequently hit logistical area for wartime Ukraine.
The attack triggered fires, which were quickly brought under control by the emergency services. Administrative and production buildings, as well as railway infrastructure facilities, were damaged, Ukraine’s Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories said.
“Attacks on the region’s port infrastructure have been ongoing for several days in a row,” the ministry said on Telegram. It said no one was injured.
Ukraine’s seaport authority, without naming the port, said that the port continued to operate.
The air force said Russia had launched one ballistic missile and 172 drones at Ukraine since 6 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Thursday. Air defence units shot down or neutralised 147 drones, but the missile and 20 drones hit at eight locations, it added.
The governor of the Odesa region said that at least six residential buildings had been struck, adding the attack also sparked a fire at the Danube Biosphere Reserve.
The Romanian defence ministry said that its radar systems caught a drone breaching its national airspace during the Russian overnight attack on Ukraine.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Philippa Fletcher)
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