A Russian attack on a Togo-flagged merchant ship carrying fertilizer on Monday killed three crew members and injured five more, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The Sea Ports Administration of Ukraine said the attack took place in the Odesa region and damaged port infrastructure and civilian facilities in the vicinity.
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In a separate update on Monday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Community and Territorial Development wrote that the attack caused a fire on the vessel while it was unloading fertilizer.
“The enemy struck a civilian merchant ship under the flag of Togo, which was in the port – unloading fertilizers was in progress. As a result of hitting the superstructure of the ship, a fire broke out,” the update says.
Both institutions said the attack killed three and injured five, with the ministry adding that the injured have been hospitalized.
The nationalities of the crew were not disclosed.
The seaport administration said the attack is the latest in a series of deadly strikes within days that claimed six lives.
“In a few days, Russian terror has already claimed six lives. These were port workers, drivers, and sailors who were doing their jobs and had nothing to do with the fighting,” the update says.
The latest attack on the vessel coincided with a Russian overnight attack across southern Ukraine.
In Odesa, the attack damaged the city’s transport infrastructure. A later update from the Odesa City Military Administration says Russian forces had struck a transport company, setting several buses on fire and damaging four private homes.
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The latest attack followed another Russian drone strike in the Odesa region late Sunday, when drones hit a residential building and a commercial facility.
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Russia has frequently targeted civilian vessels near Ukraine in the ongoing war, with Ukraine beginning to systematically target vessels ferrying Russian oil – dubbed Moscow’s “shadow fleet” – in recent months.
Kyiv argued that Russia’s oil tankers help finance Moscow’s invasion, while the attacks on ships at Ukrainian ports – primarily grain ships – violate international humanitarian law.
In late June, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba outlined Kyiv’s position in a letter sent to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), following Russian accusations that Ukraine was carrying out “terrorist” attacks against commercial shipping.
In it, Kuleba argued that Russian oil and gas tankers are “critical to the generation of budget revenues for the Russian Federation and the continuation of its war effort.”
As of Monday, Kyiv said it struck 105 Russian tankers in eight days, including 15 overnight between Sunday and Monday.
In the June letter, Kuleba said Russia has meanwhile attacked 59 merchant vessels since 2022, including the Turkish cargo ship MV Victress and the German-owned Helga, which was carrying 25,000 tons of corn to southern Ukraine’s Chornomorsk.
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