A Russian missile strike on a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying grain killed five people and left another five missing, Ukraine’s navy said Sunday.
Russia fired three cruise missiles at the Golden Leo, a Guinea-Bissau-flagged vessel, as it was “leaving the combat zone with a cargo of grain,” the navy said in a statement.
“This is yet another deliberate strike by Russia against an unarmed civilian vessel flying a foreign flag that posed no military threat whatsoever,” the statement said.
“The attack constitutes an act of terrorism against peaceful navigation and a gross violation of international humanitarian law.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the ship’s crew included Syrian and Indian nationals.
“A Ukrainian maritime pilot was killed, as well as four crew members. Eight crew members were evacuated and five still remain missing,” Sybiha said in a statement posted on X.
“While the world is still responding to Russia’s brutal overnight attack on Kyiv, Moscow continues its campaign of terror throughout the day.”
Russia fired two dozen ballistic missiles at Kyiv overnight Sunday, killing one person and wounding 16.
Russian forces regularly target Ukraine’s port infrastructure, particularly in the Black Sea region of Odesa.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has stepped up attacks on shipping in the Sea of Azov, an important export route for Russian agricultural products and a supply route to Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
During a visit to Kyiv on Thursday aimed at promoting mediation efforts, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara did not want the war in Ukraine to spread further into the Black Sea.
© Agence France-Presse