A civilian vessel sailing under the Panamanian flag was damaged by a sea mine explosion in the Black Sea, the Southern Defence Forces of Ukraine reported.

The bulk carrier was hit on its way to a Danube port to load grain on 27 December in the morning at the mouth of the Shvydka River.

“The vessel lost control, and a fire broke out on the top deck. The captain fixed the ship in the shallows to avoid sinking”, - the military said.

The ship’s captain and a sailor, Egyptian citizens, were injured, the head of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office, Ihor Domuyev, said.