Ukrainian officials reported Sunday that Russian forces targeted an international cargo ship in the Black Sea, just off the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, killing at least five crew members.
The vessel was registered under the flag of Guinea-Bissau and had departed port with a load of corn aboard. Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said the ship’s crew of 17 included sailors from India and Syria, along with one Ukrainian national.
Koretskyi added that eight crew members were pulled to safety, though the ship remained engulfed in flames as of late Sunday evening. Five additional crew members are still missing.
A Reuters journalist on the ground in Odesa witnessed thick smoke rising from a large ship visible off the coastline. Russia has not issued any public statement regarding Sunday’s strike.
The attack is part of a broader pattern of escalating Russian assaults on deepwater port facilities in southern Ukraine — ports that handle a significant share of the country’s grain exports and other essential cargo. These strikes have intensified in recent weeks as the conflict enters its fifth year.
Ukraine’s acting Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha took to social media platform X to condemn the attack, writing: “A civilian ship. An international crew. A route serving global food security. Putin saw another target.”
“This attack leaves no room for illusions. Putin’s Russia does not care whom it kills,” Sybiha added, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The assault follows a deadly weekend of Russian strikes in the region. On Saturday, one person died when Russian forces hit port infrastructure in Odesa, striking a vessel flying the flag of Antigua and Barbuda. The day before that, three people were killed in Russian attacks on Odesa and Mykolaiv.
