War in Europe

Ukraine, Kiev drones sink Russian ship in the Mediterranean. Moscow: 'Terrorist act'

Tanker sank off Malta, crew rescued. In the night Ukrainian drones also towards Russia

4 March 2026

Il presidente ucraino Volodymyr Zelenskiy, il capo dell'Ufficio del presidente dell'Ucraina Kyrylo Budanov, il segretario del Consiglio di sicurezza nazionale e difesa Rustem Umerov e il comandante in capo delle forze armate ucraine, il colonnello generale Oleksandr Syrskyi, partecipano a una riunione del Consiglio di sicurezza nazionale e difesa, mentre la Russia attacca l'Ucraina, a Kiev, Ucraina, il 3 marzo 2026. REUTERS/Maksym Kishka

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

While negotiations are stalled, the war between Ukraine and Russia continues on the ground and the confrontation is also expanding in the Mediterranean. Last night a Russian ship carrying liquefied natural gas was hit and sank between Libya and Malta. Moscow's Ministry of Transport accused Kiev of allegedly attacking the ship with sea drones from Libya. The Kremlin condemned the incident as 'an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy'.

The modalities of the attack

The Libyan Port and Maritime Authority reported a distress call for the Arctic Metagaz, a Russian tanker under sanctions since 2024, following explosions that caused a large fire, as a result of which the ship sank.

The attack on the Arctic Metagaz was allegedly launched from the Libyan coast using Ukrainian-owned unmanned motorboats, the Russian Ministry of Transport claimed in a note. The 30 crew members, all Russians, were rescued thanks to the coordination of the Maltese and Russian rescue services, according to a statement from the ministry.

Ukrainian drones also heading for Russia

On the Russian side, the Moscow Defence Ministry reported the shooting down of 32 Ukrainian drones overnight. According to the Tass news agency, the attack was directed at regions bordering Ukraine and also deep into Russian territory. "During the night, between 23:00 Moscow time on March 3 and 7:00 Moscow time on March 4 (21:00 March 3 - 5:00 March 4 Italian time, ed.), air defence forces intercepted and destroyed 32 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones: 21 over the Volgograd region, four each over the Rostov and Belgorod regions, two over the Astrakhan region and one over the Kursk region," the ministry said.

Hungarian Foreign Minister in Moscow

Meanwhile, the Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó travelled to Moscow for negotiations on oil and gas supplies to Hungary. Budapest government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs reported that the minister was in Russia "to ensure that the oil and natural gas necessary for Hungary's energy security would remain available even during the crisis and to receive guarantees that Russia will supply these supplies to Hungary at unchanged prices.

Berlin criticises blocking of aid to Kiev by Hungary

In Germany, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, meanwhile, calls for an end to the Hungarian blockade on new EU aid for Ukraine. "We can no longer allow unacceptable blockades - like the one currently imposed by Hungary - to delay this urgently needed assistance and cost lives, because crucial resources for national defence are missing," the minister said before his departure for the informal meeting of the Baltic Sea Council in Warsaw. "For us, it is clearer than ever: we Europeans, not only as Baltic Sea states, must do even more to help Ukraine. This also means supporting Ukraine on its path to the European Union, a path that we want to take together and which will perhaps represent the most important security guarantee for Ukraine in the future," Wadephul said again, emphasising that "as much as the Gulf region demands our attention, the biggest political challenge for Europe's security remains Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine."

France does not send representatives to opening ceremony of Paralympic Games

France will not send 'any representative' of its government to the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Milan-Cortina to express its disagreement with the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes. This was announced this evening by the Minister of Sport, Marina Ferrari. The decision also applies, at the moment, to the closing ceremony on 15 March in Cortina.