Drifted at sea for more than a day: border guards rescued a Filipino from a ship attacked by Russians
The sailor was taken to a safe place
On the night of July 18–19, 2026 servicemen of the Sea Guard of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine carried out a search-and-rescue operation in the waters of the Black Sea and rescued a crew member of the general cargo ship “Venturo”, which was attacked by a Russian drone.
This was reported by the press service of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
A Russian strike drone hit the civilian vessel on the evening of July 17. Most of the crew were evacuated the same day by servicemen of the Ukrainian Navy, but one sailor remained in a lifeboat adrift in the open sea.
On the evening of July 18, servicemen of the 26th border detachment, using technical observation equipment, spotted a small craft. A small boat of the Sea Guard of the State Border Guard Service immediately set out to search.
In the lifeboat the border guards found the ship’s electromechanic — a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines. The sailor was evacuated and taken to a safe place.
The operation was carried out in complete darkness and under the constant threat of repeated attacks by remotely piloted Russian drones. Despite the danger, the border guards successfully completed the mission.
After examination, it was determined that the rescued sailor was in satisfactory condition and did not require medical assistance.
The Russian military continues to attack civilian shipping and Ukraine’s port infrastructure. On July 17 in Mykolaiv alone, as a result of Russian drone strikes, four civilian vessels under foreign flags were damaged and two Ukrainians were killed.
Earlier we wrote:
- Four civilian vessels as “military targets”: Russian attack took two lives
- The Armed Forces of Ukraine overnight struck 10 Russian tankers and 4 ferries in the Sea of Azov, in a week – 90 vessels
- Russia has lost the Black Sea: Ukraine celebrates Navy Day and is building a modern fleet
- SAR markings did not stop the Russians: in the Black Sea they attacked civilian rescue boats
- “Friendship the Russian way”: a Russian drone struck a ship with Chinese citizens
