Romanian authorities on Monday ordered the evacuation of two Danube villages after a cargo ship loaded with liquified petroleum gas on the Ukrainian side was engulfed in flames following Russian drone attacks on its port infrastructure.
Those evacuated from Plauri and Ceatalchioi in Tulcea County, situated opposite to Ukraine’s port of Izmail, will be temporarily relocated to facilities provided by the local administration, emergency authorities said.
Romania’s defense ministry said in a separate statement that emergency authorities issued text alerts to residents in northern Tulcea County following overnight Russian attacks on Ukraine near the border.
A drone struck a Turkish-flagged tanker and set it ablaze on Monday in southern Ukraine’s Odesa region, officials said, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a deal to import U.S. liquefied natural gas through the area.
The MT Orinda was hit during the offloading of liquefied petroleum gas at Izmail port, Turkey’s Directorate for Maritime Affairs said. All 16 crew on board evacuated and no one was hurt, it said.
Russia has used drones, missiles and artillery to repeatedly batter the Odesa region, especially its Black Sea ports, since its full-scale invasion of its neighbor nearly four years ago. There was no immediate Russia comment Monday.
Ukrainian officials didn’t comment specifically on the tanker, although regional military administration head Oleh Kiper said Russian drones attacked the Odesa region overnight and damaged energy and port infrastructure in several cities.
The attack sparked multiple fires and damaged an unspecified number of civilian vessels, Kiper said, adding that one person was injured.
Izmail lies on a Black Sea estuary and is one of a string of ports that are vital for Ukrainian imports and exports. With Russia also targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Zelenskyy is trying to ensure gas and other energy imports that can help see his country through the approaching winter.
Zelenskyy on Sunday was on an official visit to Greece. The U.S. liquefied natural gas will flow to Odesa via pipelines from the northern Greek port of Alexandroupolis starting in January.

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