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Two Russian civilian cargo ships hit by Ukrainian missile strike in Sea of Azov

According to the statement, the onboard fire has been extinguished, and both ships continued their movement

KRASNODAR, February 24. /TASS/. Two Russian civilian cargo ships were hit by missile strike from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Krasnodar Region border security directorate told journalists Thursday.

"At 11 [AM] hours on February 24, 2022, the SGV-Flot and the Serafim Sarovsky Russian civilian cargo ships were hit by a missile strike by Ukrainian Armed Forces. The missiles were fired from the city of Mariupol. The SGV-Flot oil cargo ship was damaged, a fire broke out. On crew member was severely injured," the statement says.

According to the statement, the onboard fire has been extinguished, and both ships continued their movement. Border security patrol ships were dispatched to the location of the incident for evacuation of the injured crew member.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine in response to a request from Donbass republics. The Russian leader underscored that Moscow does not plan to occupy Ukrainian territories.

Russian Defense Ministry announced that Russian forces do not target Ukrainian cities, adding that they eliminate military infrastructure with precision strikes. Civilians are not in danger, the Ministry said.

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