Russian Strike on Black Sea Ships Kills 3, Injures at Least 3 More

Russian armed forces struck three merchant ships in the Black Sea within hours of each other on Tuesday, killing three people and injuring three others as attacks on Odesa’s port infrastructure entered a fifth consecutive day. 

The first attack hit two vessels sailing under the flags of Tanzania and Liberia through a maritime corridor, killing the captain of one ship and injuring three crew members, according to Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, who reported the strike. The 11-member crew of the affected vessel was evacuated to shore. 

A separate drone strike hit a third ship flying the flag of the Marshall Islands, killing two more people and sparking a fire that damaged the vessel’s superstructure. Preliminary investigation is still ongoing.

“The enemy continues to deliberately attack civilian vessels in the waters of the Black Sea,” Kiper said, adding that “every such cynical strike by the enemy is a war crime against civilians, civilian shipping, and global food security.”

Fifth day of attacks on Odesa ports

USPA reported that the strike came amid a fifth consecutive day of Russian attacks on the port infrastructure of Greater Odesa and civilian shipping. “This means that since the start of this wave of Russian attacks, nine people have now fallen victim to this terror,” the agency said earlier, though the death toll has now risen to 11.

Russia has been striking Odesa with ballistic missiles and drones, deliberately targeting ports, vessels, and maritime workers, USPA said, adding that “Russia is once again demonstrating a complete disregard for international law.”

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Broader pattern of attacks

The strikes add to a growing list of attacks on commercial vessels operating in Ukraine’s Black Sea shipping corridor, which was previously established to allow grain and other cargo exports to continue despite the ongoing war.

Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly accused Russia of using missiles and drones to target ships regardless of their flag or cargo, framing the pattern as an attempt to disrupt global food supply chains.

In late June, Ukrainian forces raised their flag on the Kinburn Spit, a key Black Sea strategic point, after Russian troops withdrew following heavy strikes on nearby military depots and supply infrastructure. 

Just two days earlier, a Russian drone strike in the Black Sea hit the Turkish-owned cargo vessel Victress, bound for a Ukrainian port, killing a 58-year-old crew member and setting the ship ablaze. Separately, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said a just and lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia is essential for ensuring long-term security in the Black Sea region.

Around the same time, a Russian drone attack on two merchant ships in the Black Sea killed a crew member aboard a Panama-flagged vessel and injured five others. 

On July 4, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced plans to deploy interceptor drones from various platforms, including naval surface drones, to create an aerial defense line over the Black Sea in order to protect Odesa.

Russian forces attacked two Maritime Search and Rescue Service boats on June 6 while they were carrying out a humanitarian mission in Ukraine’s Black Sea corridor, causing crew casualties. 

A Turkish-flagged fishing vessel, the Duru 67, was attacked and sunk in the northern Black Sea just a day earlier, with the Turkish Coast Guard confirming that the vessel came under fire west of Russian-occupied Sevastopol, resulting in the death of one crew member and wounding four others. 

Most recently, Romania destroyed five naval drones in the Black Sea, some of which were armed with explosives,  according to Romanian Defense Minister Radu Mîruță on July 10. The announcement of the five destroyed drones came just days after Romania requested that Ukraine modify the programming of its unmanned surface vessels (USVs).