Photo: Ukrainian Navy
A Russian missile attack on a Turkish-owned cargo vessel leaving the Ukrainian port of Odesa on July 19 left 10 people dead, including foreign crew members and a Ukrainian port pilot, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia fired three Kh-59/Kh-69 cruise missiles during the assault.
One of the missiles hit the starboard side of the “Golden Leo,” a Turkish-owned bulk carrier sailing under the Guinea-Bissau flag, triggering a fire on board.
The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) said the ship was carrying a cargo of corn and had just departed Odesa when it was struck.
There were 17 crew members from Syria and India on board, along with a Ukrainian port pilot.
The attack claimed the lives of the 66-year-old pilot and nine foreign crew members, while eight other sailors were rescued and taken to hospitals in Odesa.
“We express our sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed,” the USPA said, condemning “another Russian war crime targeting civilian shipping, international trade and freedom of navigation.”
Ukraine’s Navy described the attack as another deliberate strike on an unarmed civilian vessel sailing under a foreign flag.
Russia’s armed forces regularly bombard Ukraine’s port infrastructure, particularly the Odesa region on the Black Sea.
Ukraine has stepped up its strikes on shipping in the Sea of Azov, further east, an important maritime route for Russian farming products sold abroad and a supply route for Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, during a visit to Kiev to promote mediation efforts, said Ankara did not want to see the Ukraine war spread further into the Black Sea.
