A Russian missile struck a grain ship docked at Ukraine’s Port of Odessa, killing one person and injuring five crew members, according to a Reuters report citing Ukrainian officials.
The strike on 7 October followed an attack the previous day on a vessel carrying 6,000 tonnes of corn at the nearby Port of Pivdennyi, the 8 October report said.
No injuries were reported in the earlier strike but the grain ship was severely damaged, Reuters wrote.
“By attacking civilian vessels Russia tries to weaken Ukraine’s economy and put millions around the world at risk of hunger,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha Sybiha was quoted as saying in a statement on social media platform X.
“We must join forces of all responsible states and organisations … (to) ensure freedom of navigation in (the) Black Sea and global food security.”
The ship struck at the Port of Odessa was the 21st civilian vessel to be damaged by Russian missile strikes since the conflict began in February 2022, Reuters reported.
Despite the attacks, Ukraine’s agriculture ministry reported on 7 October that the country had exported 11.2M tonnes of grain since the start of the 2024/25 marketing year in July compared to 7.2M tonnes during the same period the previous year.
This year’s updated total included 6.5M tonnes of wheat, almost 3M tonnes of corn and more than 1.4M tonnes of barley.
The government recently announced a cap of 16.2M tonnes on wheat exports to ensure domestic supply, the report said.
