Russian strike on cargo ship in Odesa kills 3 foreign crew members, injures 5
on Google
A Russian strike hit a civilian cargo vessel flying the Togolese flag while it was unloading mineral fertilizers at the port of Odesa on July 13, killing three crew members and injuring five others, Ukraine's deputy prime minister for restoration and minister for communities and territories development, Oleksii Kuleba said.
The Russian strike hit the ship's superstructure, sparking a fire, Kuleba said. The wounded sailors were hospitalized and are receiving medical treatment.
Kuleba condemned the attack as "another Russian strike against civilian shipping and Ukraine's port infrastructure."
"Such attacks threaten the safety of international navigation, the stability of global trade, and the world's food security," he added.
The strike came amid a broader wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine that injured at least 57 people over the past day, according to regional authorities. During the overnight assault on Odesa Oblast, 5 people, including a 5-year-old child, were injured. Russian forces also struck civilian infrastructure, damaging a bus depot, a sanatorium, and other civilian sites.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's Black Sea port infrastructure and commercial shipping since the start of the full-scale invasion, despite the reopening of a maritime export corridor that has allowed Ukraine to resume grain exports.
Ukrainian officials have warned that attacks on ports and civilian vessels threaten global food security and freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.
