DUBAI, April 29. /TASS/. One of the three Russian sailors injured in the US strikes on the Yemeni port of Ras Isa has been hospitalized and may need surgery in the capital Sanaa, controlled by the Houthis from the Ansar Allah rebel movement, Yevgeny Kudrov, Russia's charge d'affaires in Yemen, told TASS.
On April 26, Foreign Minister in the Houthi-formed government Jamal Amer said that three Russian sailors from the crew of the tanker Seven Pearls had received various injuries from the American strikes on the Ras Isa oil port in the Hodeidah province on the Red Sea coast. The port was attacked, when the ship with the Russian crew was preparing to unload. According to the Houthi representative, the sailors' names are Roman Kashpor, Igor Kazachenko and Artyom Vanin.
"We can confirm that one of the Russian citizens has been admitted to a hospital in Sanaa. He has a serious eye injury, so the victim may need surgery. Two more Russian citizens were slightly injured. According to our data, their lives are not in danger," Kudrov said. According to the diplomat, 19 Russians are on board the tanker. According to Kudrov, the Russian embassy is in contact with the tanker's crew and the shipowner, who is "taking all necessary steps" to evacuate the injured sailors.
"There are 19 Russians remaining on the Seven Pearls ship near the port of Ras Isa at a safe distance from the coast. We hope that the ship is not in the zone of American strikes on the port infrastructure. Russian sailors have everything they need on board," Kudrov said.
Ras Isa is Yemen’s largest oil loading port, providing the bulk of oil imports to the territory controlled by the Houthis, and it is regularly subjected to American attacks. On April 17, the Central Command of the US Armed Forces carried out massive strikes on Ras, which fully destructed the port infrastructure. According to the Houthi Health Ministry, 74 civilians were killed in the attack, and 171 others were injured.
The situation in Yemen
After the conflict in the Gaza Strip escalated in 2023, the Houthis warned that they would shell Israel and would not allow ships associated with it to pass through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The attacks stopped after a cease-fire was established in the Palestinian enclave in mid-January. However, after the breakdown of the truce in early March, the rebels resumed attacks on Israeli ships in the Red Sea, and later again began to attempt to attack targets in Israel with rockets.
On March 15, the United States began massive strikes against the targets of Houthis, which control about a third of Yemen's territory. According to the Central Command of the US Armed Forces, the operation is aimed at protecting American interests and ensuring freedom of navigation.