In a major setback for Ukraine, Russia struck and sank the Simferopol, a Ukrainian Navy reconnaissance vessel, in a drone attack on Thursday. The strike took place in the Danube River delta near the Odesa region.

According to the Ukrainian Navy, one sailor was killed and several others remain missing. Rescue teams are still searching. "Efforts to tackle the consequences of the attack are ongoing. Most of the crew is safe, and the search for multiple missing sailors continues," Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk told the Kyiv Independent.

The incident marks the first time Russia has successfully used a naval drone to hit a Ukrainian ship. The attack was carried out with a remotely controlled boat. While Ukraine has targeted and destroyed multiple Russian warships since the war began in February 2022, its own naval losses have remained rare until now.

Russia has increasingly turned to drones to wage its campaign. On the same day, it carried out a combined drone and missile barrage on Kyiv that killed at least 19 people and wounded around 48. Officials confirmed that four of the victims were children.

As this unfolded, Moscow claimed it had intercepted and destroyed 102 Ukrainian drones on Thursday alone.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy strongly denounced Vladimir Putin, accusing him of killing children. He said Russian forces launched nearly 600 drones and 31 missiles, including ballistic ones, at Kyiv over the course of the day.

"This attack clearly demonstrates that Russia's intentions have not changed. They desire war, targeting not our people and cities but everyone in the world who wants peace," Zelenskyy stated, "It is a strike against Ukraine, against Europe, also against President Trump, and against other global players."