Cargo ship owned by Japanese firm hit by missile off Ukraine

A cargo ship owned by a Japanese firm hit by a missile off the coast of Ukraine in the Black Sea, local media reported Saturday.

According to the Japanese news agency Kyodo, one of the crew members of 20 Philippines nationals was injured in the Panamanian-registered cargo ship Namura Queen.

The firm said the ship is heading to Turkiye for damage assessment.

The Ukrainian authorities said the missile was fired by Russian forces, according to media reports.

Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine entered its third day Saturday with the latest reports indicating that Russian troops clashing with Ukrainian forces in the capital Kyiv.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military intervention Thursday, days after recognizing two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine.

He claimed that Moscow had no plan to occupy the neighboring country but wanted to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to install a puppet government and said Ukrainians will defend their country against Russian aggression.