Toll from Russian strike on Odesa rises to eight

KYIV: The toll from a Russian ballistic missile strike on port infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region rose to eight dead and nine wounded, authorities said Thursday.

The attack on Wednesday struck a civilian container ship flying the flag of Panama, according to the region’s governor Oleg Kiper.

“The death toll as a result of yesterday’s attack increased to eight people. A 26-year-old man died in hospital,” Kiper wrote on social media.

EU spokesman for external affairs Peter Stano described the attack as the latest in a string that constituted a “blatant violation of international law and must stop immediately.”

Kiper had earlier said that the attack on the Black Sea port city was the third on a civilian vessel in four days.

Russia has targeted Ukraine’s coastal Odesa region throughout the war, hitting boats and grain silos in what Kyiv says is an illegal attempt to destroy its export capacity.

Ukraine was one of the largest exporters of grain in the world before Russia’s invasion in February 2022, but repeated attacks on its port and storage facilities have severely curbed its output.

“Russia is directly targeting the supply of food to the people most in need,” Stano said.

“And this proves Russia’s determination to continue weaponizing food, further negatively affecting global food security, putting millions of people at risk, not so much in Ukraine or in Europe, but in vulnerable people in countries of Asia and Africa,” he added.

The attack came two days after a Russian missile hit a Palau-flagged ship in the port of Odesa, killing one person aboard, according to local authorities.