Russian drone strike forces key Ukrainian ferry checkpoint to suspend operations

The latest round of Russian military strikes on Ukraine has destroyed the Orlivka checkpoint, the sole maritime border facility for ships travelling between Ukraine and Romania, BBC News Ukrainian reported on Tuesday.

The scale of the damage has reportedly forced the authorities to temporarily suspend operations, with the Ukrainian border control service recommending using the Reni land checkpoint to cross the border, adding that “measures are being taken to stabilise the situation” following Russia’s attack overnight.

Orlivka is the only border checkpoint designed to process ferries crossing between the two countries and is primarily used by truck drivers. The Reni checkpoint handles car traffic and is located on the border between Ukraine and Moldova.

The Russian military launched a two-hour-long drone attack on the Odesa region in the early hours of 26 September, regional governor Oleh Kiper reported on Tuesday. While Kiper didn’t specify how many drones had been involved in the attack, he said that the majority of them had been intercepted.

He added that drones managed to strike Black Sea port infrastructure and that two people had been injured in the strike. Fires that broke out were subsequently extinguished, Kiper said.