Ukraine said it struck a Russian cargo ship that was transporting Iranian drone components to Russia in the Caspian Sea.
According to Ukraine’s General Staff, the attack on Thursday targeted the Port Olya-4, a 400-foot cargo ship docked at the seaport of Olya in Russia’s Astrakhan region, more than 500 miles from the front line.
The ship was “loaded with Shahed-type drone parts and ammunition from Iran,” it said, adding that the port serves as “an important logistics hub for the supply of military goods from Iran.”
Imagery showed the vessel partially submerged with fire damage to its bridge. The entire crew were reportedly rescued.
Iranian/Russian transport Port Olya-4 sank after GUR strike in Astrakhanhttps://t.co/Yct4QD1KhK pic.twitter.com/1TduGfIAUP
— Ukraine Control Map (@UAControlMap) August 15, 2025
The Ukrainian Special Operations Forces and other AFU units “struck” the Caspian Sea port of Olya sinking the general cargo ship, “Port Olya 4.” The ship was reportedly carrying components for Shaheds and ammunition from Iran. Imagery of the sunken vessel shows extensive fire… pic.twitter.com/g1lTIkmOpF
— OSINT Intuit 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 🇬🇪 (@UKikaski) August 15, 2025
Ukraine’s former economy minister Tymofiy Mylovanov said it was the first-ever ship sunk in the Caspian Sea by a drone strike. He noted that long-range drones flew 850 kilometers to hit the vessel while it was docked. His claims have not been independently verified.
Russian officials acknowledged drones were intercepted over Astrakhan but claimed a vessel was only “damaged by debris from a downed UAV.”
The Olya strike came alongside other Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure. An oil refinery in Syzran, Samara Oblast, caught fire early on Friday after a reported drone strike.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses downed 53 Ukrainian drones overnight across multiple regions, including 13 over Kursk, 11 over Rostov, seven over Samara, six over Belgorod, five over Oryol, four each over Bryansk and Voronezh, and one each over Saratov, Kalmykia, and the Azov Sea.
