Russian forces struck two civilian search-and-rescue vessels under international legal protection in Ukraine’s Black Sea maritime corridor on June 6, wounding several crew members and triggering an emergency evacuation by Ukrainian Navy boats.
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 7, 2026: Ukraine’s intermediate-range strikes against Russian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) in occupied southern and eastern Ukraine are continuing to disrupt Russian logistics, and these operational effects will likely continue… pic.twitter.com/OK52U0jGWa
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) June 8, 2026
The vessels belonged to Ukraine’s Maritime Search and Rescue Service (MSRS), the state agency for emergency response at sea. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba confirmed the attack that evening, stating crew had sustained casualties and that Navy boats were evacuating the wounded.
🔴 Russian forces strike humanitarian rescue boats.
Two small coastal search-and-rescue vessels were struck by Russian military fire while performing a humanitarian mission, resulting in reported casualties, according to Ukraine’s official Oleksiy Kuleba. pic.twitter.com/7qb4y8fmMl
— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) June 6, 2026
“Russia attacked two civilian search-and-rescue vessels, once again grossly violating the norms of international humanitarian law,” Kuleba said. He cited Article 27 of the Second Geneva Convention of 1949, which protects small coastal rescue craft operated by state or officially recognized rescue organizations from attack.
Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk confirmed several people were wounded, including those with moderate injuries. “Nevertheless, this did not stop the operators of Russian drones that strike within our territorial sea,” Pletenchuk told Suspilne on June 7.
Russian military Telegram channels published footage described as Geran-2 drones, Russia’s designation for the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 one-way attack drone, pursuing and striking vessels in the Black Sea. Russian sources described the targets as Ukrainian Navy patrol craft. These claims have not been independently verified.
The vessels hit by Russian Geran-2 drones in the Black Sea this afternoon were two Ukrainian Navy search and rescue operations boats, recently delivered by Estonia. https://t.co/lKYHWu5nkR pic.twitter.com/yvc3PeF6Gt
— AMK Mapping 🇳🇿 (@AMK_Mapping_) June 6, 2026
The attack extended a documented Russian effort to adapt the Geran-2 for maritime strike. Footage released as recently as June 3 showed variants fitted with electro-optical guidance seekers enabling tracking of moving targets, a departure from the drone’s earlier fixed-target role.
On May 25, a Geran-2 killed all four crew aboard a Ukrainian Navy boat near Yuzhne, east of Odesa.
“This attack is yet another proof of the Russian Federation’s deliberate disregard for the norms of international law and the creation of a direct threat to the safe functioning of humanitarian maritime corridors in the Black Sea,” Kuleba said.
