Russian forces attacked two merchant ships in the Black Sea that were sailing along the sea lane under the flags of Tanzania and Liberia. This was announced by the head of the Odessa Regional Military Administration, Oleg Kiper.
According to him, the captain of one of the ships died. Eleven crew members were evacuated to shore, and three of them were injured.
In turn, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that Russian drones struck three dry cargo ships in the port of Odessa during the day. According to the ministry, the ships that were attacked were involved in “the interests of the Ukrainian armed forces.”
On July 13, Kiper reported that Russia bombed port infrastructure in the city of Chernomorsk in the Odessa region. As a result, a fire broke out on a Togolese-flagged merchant ship anchored in the port. According to Kiper, the ship was transporting mineral fertilizers. Five crew members were killed and ten others were injured.
This is not the first time in recent weeks that crew members on commercial ships have been killed as a result of Russian attacks. On the night of June 22, a drone attack set fire to a Turkish cargo ship sailing to Ukraine under a Panamanian flag. The ship’s cook was killed and eight sailors were evacuated. Three days ago, two ships were attacked by Russian drones – under the flags of Panama and Saint Kitts and Nevis. On the first ship, one person was killed and two others were injured, and on the second, three people were injured.