Russian drone hits Chinese ship off Ukraine before Putin visits Xi Jinping 

⁠Russian drones have hit two ships in the Black Sea approaching ports in Ukraine’s Odesa region, including a Chinese-owned cargo vessel, one day before Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to Beijing to meet Xi Jinping.

Ukraine’s seaports ⁠authority said the strikes hit two civilian vessels on Monday, one under a Marshall Islands flag and the other under Guinea-Bissau’s flag, both of which were heading to ports in the region.

The Ukrainian navy ‌reported a strike on the KSL Deyang, a Chinese-owned cargo ship with a Chinese crew under the Marshall Islands flag. It posted a photograph of the ship showing its name with one of its sides partially charred.

Russia has regularly attacked civilian vessels in the port area of Odesa, a vital maritime hub for Ukrainian agricultural exports, since it invaded Ukraine four years ago. Monday’s attack comes just before Putin’s two-day trip to Beijing, where he is to have talks with Chinese President Xi.

“Drones struck Odesa and one of the UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] hit a vessel owned by China,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on social media. “The Russians could not have been unaware of what vessel was at sea.”

A spokesman for Ukraine’s navy told the AFP news agency that none of the crew – all Chinese citizens – was wounded and that the Chinese-owned vessel continued on its journey while a source told the Reuters news agency that ⁠the Deyang was without cargo at the time of the attack as it was heading to load iron ore concentrate ⁠in Ukraine’s Pivdennyi port in the Odesa region.

“The ship was entering for loading. After it was hit at night by a Shahed, the crew coped with the consequences on their own. Fortunately, no one was injured, and the vessel continued on its way to its port of destination,” Ukrainian navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said.

Zelenskyy said Russian forces attacked Ukrainian territory overnight with 524 drones and 22 missiles, including ballistic and cruise missiles.

China has regularly called for talks to end the war on Ukraine but has never condemned Russia for sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and presents itself as a neutral party.