Key facts
- Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned a Ukrainian attack on a commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea.
- One sailor was killed and another injured in the attack.
- Tehran accused Ukraine of seeking to expand the Russia-Ukraine war.
- President Zelenskyy confirmed Ukraine struck Russian vessels used for military cargo shipments involving Iran in the Caspian Sea.
- Ukraine's Security Service identified targeted ships as Port Olya 2 and Begey, used for military cargo transport between Russia and Iran.
- Iranian media issued threats of ballistic missile attacks on Ukraine.
Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned a Ukrainian attack on a commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, stating on Saturday that the incident resulted in an explosion that killed one sailor and injured another. Tehran described the event as an act of aggression and accused Ukraine of seeking to expand the Russia-Ukraine war.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukrainian forces struck Russian vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran in the Caspian Sea. Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) stated that the operation included drone strikes on the Filanovsky offshore oil platform, operated by Russian oil company Lukoil, and two cargo vessels, Port Olya 2 and Begey. According to the SBU, these ships had been used to transport military cargo between Russia and Iran.
Iranian media outlet Middle East Spectator threatened Ukraine with ballistic missiles, stating, "All of Ukraine is within reach of Iran’s ballistic missiles." This threat comes amid ongoing exchanges of air attacks between Kyiv and Moscow, and Ukraine's increasing use of long-range drones to target Russian defense-industrial facilities, oil infrastructure, and logistics hubs.
Russia's Defense Ministry reported that air defenses intercepted and destroyed 328 Ukrainian drones overnight on July 24-25. Separately, Russian regional officials reported injuries and damage in the southern Rostov region. The Ukrainian strikes followed a Russian ballistic missile attack near Kyiv on July 24 that killed at least 10 people and injured almost 100, and Russian glide bomb attacks in the Donetsk region that killed six people.