Shadow of War Reaches Romanian Waters; Russia Launches Indiscriminate Retaliatory Strikes on Homes and Infrastructure

As Russia faces fuel supply instability following concentrated attacks on its energy facilities, it is escalating its retaliatory measures by threatening civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. The conflict now appears to be expanding toward waters near neighboring Romania.

According to reports from AFP and other sources on July 21 (local time), Romanian President Nicusor Dan stated on social media that day, "A ship in the Black Sea transporting propane gas to a Ukrainian port was attacked, leaving three crew members injured."

He added, "It is highly likely that this is part of Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine," suggesting that Russia may be the perpetrator of the attack.

The vessel had departed from the Port of Alexandria in Egypt and was carrying 3,790 tons of propane gas to Ukraine when it was struck approximately 20 nautical miles (about 37 km) off the Romanian coast.

This marks an expansion of the intensifying clashes between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea to the vicinity of Romanian territorial waters.

According to Naftogaz, Ukraine's state-owned energy company, gas production facilities in the Kharkiv region have also been under Russian attack for three consecutive days as of today.

Due to the persistent strikes, parts of the facilities have halted operations, and production output has decreased.

In the Zaporizhzhia region, at least two civilians were killed following a Russian aerial bomb attack.

The Kherson and Odesa regions were also targeted by guided bombs and drone strikes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media that day, "Russian forces attacked a regular apartment building, causing a fire that spread from the first to the seventh floor."

Russian President Vladimir Putin, referring to a Ukrainian drone attack on the 13th, had previously warned of a response "many times more powerful."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.