Five Azerbaijani citizens were killed in the drone attacks on two cargo ships in the Sea of Azov, according to authorities in Baku.

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday that five Azerbaijani citizens were killed and three injured following drone attacks targeting two foreign cargo ships in the Sea of Azov. Authorities in Baku specified that 25 Azerbaijani citizens were on board these ships, which do not belong to the Azerbaijani state, and the injured were transported to a hospital in Yeisk, Russia.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin accused Ukraine of carrying out the attack, stating that it had previously targeted ships in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The commander of the Ukrainian unmanned systems forces, Robert Brovdi, claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that five ships illegally located in ports occupied by Russia were hit, without confirming whether these were the ships involved in the incident with the Azerbaijani citizens. Attacks on civilian ships have intensified in the past year, in the context of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.