A civilian ship entering a port in the Black Sea region of Odesa has been hit by a Russian missile, injuring the ship’s crew and killing a harbor pilot.
“Continuing the terror on civilian shipping, the enemy insidiously fired a Kh-31P anti-radar missile in the direction of one of the ports of Odesa region from tactical aircraft in the Black Sea,” the Ukrainian military said.
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“The missile hit the structure of a civilian vessel flying the Liberian flag as it was entering the port,” it added.
According to preliminary reports, a harbor pilot was killed and another port worker was injured.
Three crew members aboard the ship, citizens of the Philippines, were also injured with one of them being hospitalized.
Since a UN-brokered deal guaranteeing safe passage for civilian ships collapsed in July, both Kyiv and Moscow have ramped up military activity and attacks in the Black Sea.
The collapse of the UN-backed grain export deal in July prompted Moscow to warn that any ships entering Ukrainian ports could be viewed as potential military targets.
Ukraine subsequently announced the launch of a new “humanitarian corridor” – a sea route for civilian ships – that avoids international waters. But Russia has continued to attack Ukraine’s grain-exporting ports and infrastructure.
The UN's Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said in a statement: "I am outraged to learn of an attack yesterday on a civilian vessel as it was entering the Ukrainian Black Sea Port of Pivdennyi in Odesa, killing a port worker and injuring crew members. I share my condolences with the family of the killed port pilot and hope for the recovery of the injured.
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"The consequences of this brutal and relentless pattern of Russian attacks on port facilities are devasting for Ukraine's economy and the hundreds of millions of people facing hunger worldwide."
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