On July 13, a Russian military strike targeted a civilian cargo ship under the Togo flag in Odesa, resulting in five fatalities and ten injuries. The attack occurred as the vessel was unloading mineral fertilizer at the port. Oleh Kiper, the governor of Odesa Oblast, confirmed that the casualty count rose after rescuers located two additional bodies amid the fire on board. Emergency crews struggled for hours to control the blaze ignited by the strike, which struck the ship’s superstructure directly. Among the deceased were three foreign crew members, and the injured sailors remain hospitalized for treatment.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration, Oleksii Kuleba, condemned the strike as part of a broader pattern of Russian assaults on civilian maritime operations. He warned that such aggressive actions threaten international shipping routes, destabilize global trade, and jeopardize food security worldwide. The attack coincided with a wider Russian assault on various regions, injuring at least 57 individuals throughout Ukraine, including a five-year-old in Odesa.
This incident is not isolated; the port of Odesa has faced multiple attacks since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022, despite the reopening of a maritime corridor for grain exports. Ukrainian officials have consistently raised alarms about the risks posed to commercial vessels and foreign crews, regardless of their flag state. Additionally, Ukraine has intensified its operations against Russia’s maritime assets, claiming to have targeted numerous vessels in the Sea of Azov recently, aiming to disrupt Russian supply lines.
