Russian attack on Odesa leaves two dead

A MISSILE attack on the Port of Odesa in Ukraine has left a dockworker and truck driver dead and two seafarers injured, Odesa Oblast governor Oleh Kiper announced on social media platform Telegram.

The attack took place on the afternoon of Thursday, July 3, while a Sao Tome and Principe-flagged vessel was alongside.

Kiper said an Iskender missile hit one of the berths at Odesa, killing the dockworker and truck driver and injuring six more people, including two Syrian crewmembers of the vessel.

Vessel tracking shows no ships in the Odesa region, but this is not unusual, as vessels are instructed to turn off their Automatic Identification Systems when sailing to the Black Sea ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhnyy.

Port infrastructure was also damaged, Kiper said, including gantry cranes and warehouses.

“Russia has been shelling our ports for the fourth year in a row. It is hitting the infrastructure that connects Ukraine with the world,” he wrote on Telegram.

“Free and safe shipping should not be the exception, but the norm. There should be a tough international response. The world cannot leave targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure unanswered.”