Russian forces attacked a merchant vessel flying the flag of Guinea-Bissau near Odessa after it departed from the port following the loading of corn, Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi reported.
“According to available information, there were 17 citizens of Syria and India on board, as well as one Ukrainian citizen — the pilot,” Koretskyi wrote on Telegram.
He said that despite a large-scale fire, the Ukrainian Navy managed to rescue eight crew members. Two of them were injured and were taken to a hospital in Odessa.
“As of this moment, the bodies of five crew members have been found. The fate of five sailors remains unknown. Due to the threat of a repeated attack, rescuers were forced to withdraw to a safe area. A large-scale fire is ongoing on the vessel, and firefighting operations continue. Ukraine is doing everything possible to find and rescue the remaining foreign crew members,” Koretskyi said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha later clarified that one of those killed was a Ukrainian citizen.
“A Ukrainian maritime pilot was killed, along with four other crew members,” Sybiha wrote on social media platform X.
The prime minister instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to immediately inform the countries whose citizens were affected by the Russian attack, as well as Ukraine’s international partners.
“Together with the military command, we are preparing decisions that will strengthen the safety of maritime navigation and help protect civilian vessels and sailors from criminal Russian attacks. Russia is committing war crimes and undermining Black Sea security by attacking civilian merchant ships. This is an assault on freedom of navigation and the principles of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” Koretskyi concluded.
The Russian attack on a civilian vessel was carried out using cruise missiles, according to the Ukrainian Navy.
“Russian occupiers struck the civilian cargo vessel GOLDEN LEO (flag of Guinea-Bissau, Turkish-owned) with three Kh-59/Kh-69 cruise missiles while it was leaving the combat zone carrying a grain shipment,” the Ukrainian Navy said in a Facebook statement.
The Navy said the missiles hit the area of the vessel’s starboard-side superstructure, causing a fire to break out on board. The technical condition of the vessel is currently being assessed.
Units of the Ukrainian Navy and the Maritime Search and Rescue Service were involved in providing assistance.
“This is yet another deliberate Russian strike against an unarmed civilian vessel flying a foreign flag that posed no military threat whatsoever. The attack is an act of terror against peaceful maritime navigation and a gross violation of international humanitarian law,” the Ukrainian Navy said.
