Ukraine: Marine drone explodes in Romanian port

Ukraine: Marine drone explodes in Romanian port Published June 5, 2026last updated June 5, 2026What you need to know - Ukrainian naval drone detonates near oil terminal in Romanian port - Germany and France welcome Zelenskyy's proposal for Putin meeting - Russian drone strikes claim seven lives in Ukraine - US lawmakers pass Ukraine Support Act in defiance of Trump - IAEA says ceasefire in place at frontline near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant Read below for a roundup of news related to Russia's war in Ukraine on June 5, 2026. Tired of missing our real-time updates? Click here to add us as a Preferred Source on Google. Then tap the "Star" or "Preferred" to keep DW News at the top of your feed. Kyiv: Constanta drone was out-of-control Ukrainian device The naval drone which exploded near an oil terminal in the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta on Friday morning was a Ukrainian device which lost control as a result of Russian electronic warfare, Ukraine's navy has said. The Ukrainian marine drone was "jammed by Russia, lost control and drifted towards Romania," read a statement, adding that Romanian authorities were contacted and warned in order to prevent casualties. A Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman said the incident "proves [that] Russian aggression poses [a] threat not only to Ukraine." UAE facilitates Russia-Ukraine prisoner exchange Russia and Ukraine exchanged 185 prisoners of war on Friday in a swap facilitated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the exchange included soldiers who had been in Russian captivity since 2022. "They defended our state in Mariupol and at Azovstal, as well as in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kyiv, and Kursk sectors," he said. "The return of our people is a constant priority for Ukraine. Every day, we are working to free every Ukrainian man and woman from captivity." The Russian Defense Ministry said 185 Russian soldiers were returned from the "area controlled by the Kyiv regime" — as it refers to the state of Ukraine. Prisoner exchanges are one of few tangible examples of communication between Kyiv and Moscow. Five Azerbaijan nationals killed in Azov Sea drone attack Azerbaijan said on Friday that five of its citizens had been killed and three more injured in a drone attack on cargo ships in the Sea of Azov overnight. Citing an official Russian communication to Baku, the Azeri Foreign Ministry said 25 of its citizens were among the crews of the two vessels, which it said were not owned by Azerbaijan. "The Russian side provided relevant information that, as a result of the attack, a total of five of our citizens were killed and three were wounded," read a statement. The wounded seamen have reportedly been taken to hospital in the Russian city of Yeysk on the opposite side of the Azov Sea, where Azeri embassy staff are on the scene. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin blamed Ukraine for the attack, telling journalists in St. Petersburg: "We know very well who is using drones, both aerial and naval, to attack peaceful civilian vessels in the waters of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea." Ukraine has not responded directly to the Azeri and Russian comments but Robert Brovdi, commander of Kyiv's unmanned systems forces, said Ukrainian drones had "struck five illegally loitering vessels during the night of June 5 in the ports of Mariupol and Berdiansk, and in the coastal waters of the temporarily occupied territories." He said the vessels were involved in "stealing" Ukrainian grain and transferring military cargo and fuel, with the names of the vessels painted over and their radars turned off. The Ukrainian Azov Sea ports of Berdiansk and Mariupol fell under Russian occupation in the opening months of the war. Berdiansk was captured just three days into the full-scale invasion on February 27, 2022, but the Russian Navy landing ship Saratov was sunk in its port on March 24. Ukrainian forces in Mariupol surrendered on May 16 following a devastating siege. France and Germany welcome Zelenskyy's Putin letter The French and German governments have signaled their approval of an open letter addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin by his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling for face-to-face talks. "I believe that it is now up to Ukraine and Russia to establish both a ceasefire and a peace plan," said French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Montenegro. Macron said it was "time" to resume dialogue with Moscow and added: "It is the Europeans who can help with this." Meanwhile, in Berlin, a spokesman for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government also welcomed Zelenskyy's letter and called for "serious willingness" from Moscow to engage in talks — but said that there was as yet little sign of this. The spokesman also reiterated the German government's stance that both the European Union and the United States must be party to any negotiations. Meanwhile, the EU also backed Zelenskyy's call for direct talks in a letter to Putin. "We welcome President Zelenskyy's call for direct negotiations and also the call for a ceasefire — and from our side, we will go once more through the facts, and this is that Ukraine wants peace, Europe wants peace," EU spokeswoman Anitta Hipper said. Marine drone self-detonates in Romanian port of Constanta A marine drone similar to those used in the war in neighboring Ukraine self-detonated in Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta near an oil terminal on Friday, but no casualties were reported, according to the Romanian Ministry of Defense. The port was evacuated and residents along Romania's Black Sea coast were warned to take cover. Two helicopters surveyed the area for additional drones, said Deputy Interior Minister Raed Arafat. "We now know there is the risk of self-detonation, we have ... evacuated in case there are more drones," Arafat said, confirming that the drone did not belong to the Romanian armed forces. "We are not panicking, the measures are purely preventative." There has so far been no confirmation as to the provenance of the drone, but the Russian Embassy in Bucharest has claimed it was Ukrainian. "These are Ukrainian unmanned maritime vehicles," it said, adding that attempts to link the drone to Russia, "directly or indirectly," were "completely unfounded." Ukraine has not explicitly claimed ownership of the drone but has reportedly notified Romania that it was one of a group of five in the area, suggesting that it was indeed Ukrainian. "With a military conflict on the border, it is obvious that the security environment we are in is a sensitive one, which is why we will maintain a high level of vigilance," said Deputy Interior Minister Arafat, adding that the incident is a "direct consequence of the war of aggression unleashed by Russia against Ukraine." EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Russia's war against Ukraine is becoming a threat for all the countries on the bloc's eastern border, writing on social media: "Our solidarity with every member state exposed to these threats is absolute." The explosion in Constanta occurred just a week after a Russian drone crashed into an apartment building in the southeastern Romanian city of Galati, which is located near the border with Ukraine. Russian strike kills four near Kyiv A Russian drone strike on a factory that produces milk products for children, near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv killed four people early on Friday, authorities said. "The enemy attacked a peaceful civilian food industry enterprise," Kyiv region governor Mykola Kalashnyk said in a post on Telegram. "Unfortunately, the number of people killed as a result of the hostile attack ... has increased to four people." The attack caused a fire in the administrative building of the enterprise's complex and parts of its structure had been destroyed, he added. This is in addition to three people who lost their lives in different parts of Ukraine in the overnight Russian drone attacks. IAEA says ceasefire in place at frontline near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant A "localized ceasefire" took effect on the frontline near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said, allowing for the repair of a key power line amid the ongoing Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The IAEA's chief Rafael Grossi himself brokered the ceasefire. This is also the sixth temporary ceasefire he has negotiated with Russia and Ukraine since late last year. Moscow and Kyiv "engaged constructively with the IAEA during weeks of sensitive and complex talks, with both sides agreeing to cease fire for the sake of nuclear safety," the agency said in a post on X, citing Grossi. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, located in southeastern Ukraine, is the largest in Europe. Russian forces seized the plant soon after Moscow began its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The plant's reactors were shut down as a precaution amid worries of a nuclear mishap. Even then, the complex has been repeatedly damaged with both sides accusing each other of shelling the plant. "In work monitored by IAEA experts, technicians from both sides will in coming days start repairing war-related damage to the 750 kilovolt (kV) Dniprovska power line following extensive de-mining of the area," the IAEA said in a post on social media platform X. Russian drone strikes claim three lives in Ukraine At least three people were killed in various Russian strikes across Ukraine, regional authorities said on Friday. A drone strike killed a 75-year-old man in southern Ukraine's Kherson city, according to its military administrator Yaroslav Shanko. A woman was also killed in a drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, according to emergency services. 16 others were injured in that attack. Another woman was killed in a drone and artillery attack in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, local governor Oleksandr Ganzha said on Telegram. Meanwhile, Russia's defense ministry intercepted and destroyed 123 Ukrainian drones overnight, it said on Friday morning. Ukraine's air force similarly said it shot down 198 Russian drones overnight. Moscow and Kyiv have intensified aerial attacks on each other in recent months after US-led peace talks failed. Germany's Wadephul urges Putin to talk peace with Ukraine German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul urged Russia's Putin to engage in peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, adding that Europe must be involved in any settlement they reach. Wadephul said the conflict had reached a stage where efforts to secure its end had become urgent. He made these comments alongside Mexican counterpart Roberto Velasco Alvarez in Mexico City on Thursday. The German foreign minister's urgency comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an open letter. Wadephul said that key points of the peace negotiations, such as security guarantees and Kyiv's pending EU membership could only be discussed with the bloc's participation. Putin set to talk economy, geopolitics at St. Petersburg forum Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to deliver a speech on Russia's economic situation amid global politics on Friday, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). The Russian leader is expected to speak in the afternoon and take questions, some of which are likely to be about the future of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The SPIEF has long been Moscow's annual platform to showcase its economic and geopolitical ambitions in what can be called Putin's version of the World Economic Forum in Davos. This time too, he seeks to project strength and resilience despite slowing growth amid war. The presidents of Uzbekistan and Tanzania, the vice president of China and a large delegation from Saudi Arabia are attending the forum this year. Rodney Mims Cook Jr, head of the US Commission of Fine Arts, is also in attendance, marking the first US representative there in years. US lawmakers pass Ukraine Support Act in defiance of Trump The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a legislation which would aid Ukraine and place new sanctions on the Russian economy. The Ukraine Support Act includes measures to help Ukraine rebuild after the war with over $1 billion (€860 million) in assistance and up to $8 billion in direct loans. It also imposes sanctions and export controls on Russian financial institutions, oil companies and officials. The move is yet another sign that Republican representatives are willing to defy the party line to push back on US President Donald Trump. The House voted 226 to 195 in favor of the bill. It has a slim majority of Republicans meaning over a dozen of them voted with Democrats to push the bill through. This came only a day after the House passed a resolution to limit Trump's powers in the Iran war, again with some Republican support. The split between otherwise united Republicans comes just months before the critical US midterm elections which is likely to be seen as a referendum to Trump's war in Iran. What does this mean for Ukraine? Not much. The future of the Ukraine Support Act remains uncertain. The resolution will now have to be approved by the Senate, where Republicans also hold a thin majority. If the Senate were to pass the measure, Trump would be expected to veto it, making this a largely symbolic move. American politicians from both parties were strongly in support of Ukraine when Russia launched its invasion over four years ago. However, several Trump allies have grown cooler towards Kyiv in his second stint at the White House. As a result, US aid to Ukraine has slowed dramatically. Ukraine's Zelenskyy proposes Putin meeting on ending war In an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was willing to meet face-to-face and end the Ukraine war "through direct engagement between us." "Ukraine is ready for a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations," he added in the letter published on the Ukrainian presidency's website and social media. In one of the few times Zelenskyy has reached out directly to Putin since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, the Ukrainian leader said Russians were getting tired of the conflict, and warned Ukraine would "continue fighting for its existence" if Putin did not "personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war." Zelenskyy's letter comes as Putin on Thursday told the heads of international news agencies at a St. Petersburg economic conference that Russia still holds the upper hand in the war. Welcome to our coverage Good morning! and welcome to DW's Ukraine blog. The lower house of the US Congress has passed the Ukraine Support Act with some Republican support, as US politicians express their displeasure ahead of key midterm elections. The vote is largely symbolic and the Act is unlikely to pass the Senate and then US President Donald Trump's desk. Ukraine and Hungary reached an agreement on long-standing ethnic minority issues between the two countries. This agreement will boost Ukraine's bid to join the European Union as Budapest would drop its veto on the matter. Kyiv has been campaigning to formally join the EU, partly to bolster its security against the full-scale Russian Invasion which began over four years ago. Meanwhile, Ukraine's Zelenskyy has proposed a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin in an open letter to the Russian leader, and end the war through direct talks. Zelenskyy's letter comes as Putin on Thursday told the heads of international news agencies at a St. Petersburg economic conference that Russia still holds the upper hand in the war. All this, while the two countries continue to exchange drones and missiles.