Russian missile attack on Odesa damages civilian foreign vessel, casualties reported

A Russian ballistic missile struck the Odesa port on the evening of March 1, damaging port infrastructure as well as a foreign civilian ship flying the flag of Panama, Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper reported.

Two port employees were injured as a results of the attack. No information was available as to the extent of their injuries.

The Swiss-owned container ship MSC LEVANTE F sailed into the port earlier in the day, local Odesa publication Dumska reported.

No information was immediately available as to what the vessel was carrying, or the extent of the damage.

Foreign vessels have previously been damaged in Russian attacks on the port. In October 2024, multiple ships had been damaged in separate attacks on the Odesa port.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 23 at the International Conference on Food Security in Kyiv that Russia has damaged 321 port infrastructure facilities, as well as 20 foreign merchant vessels since July 2023.

Traveling along the Black Sea route, ships are regularly at risk of being attacked by Russia. Since the beginning of the all-out war, mines have also been drifting along the trade route, which also poses a risk to maritime transport.

As a major grain producer, Ukraine exports about 6 million tons of grain per month through ports along the Black Sea.

Following an initial blockade at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Russia unilaterally terminated the Black Sea grain deal last year forcing Kyiv to set up a new export route in the Black Sea.

Initially envisioned as a humanitarian corridor to allow the departure of ships stranded there since the start of the full-scale war, it has since grown into a full-blown trade route.

NATO Secretary General calls for Zelensky to ‘restore relationship’ with Trump following Oval Office clash

Speaking to the BBC, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that it was “important that President Zelensky finds a way to restore his relationship with the American president and with the senior American leadership team.”

The Kyiv IndependentDmytro Basmat