A Russian missile hit a Palau-flagged vessel on Monday in Ukraine’s southern port of Odessa. One Ukrainian national was killed while five foreign nationals and ship’s crew members were injured.

According to the head of Odessa’s Regional Military Administration, Oleh Kiper, the aggressor initially targeted the port infrastructure. The 60-year-old Ukrainian killed by a ballistic missile strike was an employee of a private cargo handling company. Of the other five foreign nationals injured, four are in moderate condition and one is in stable condition.

Port Pivdennyi has become a target for Russian military forces’ repeated attacks since the start of a Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This is the fourth time in the last two months that Russia has attacked it. The day before, the Russian army also struck the civilian vessel PARESA, damaging the ship which was flying the flag of St. Kitts and Nevis. Earlier, on September 20, an attack by Odessa with Iskander-M ballistic missiles damaged a civilian ship flying the flag of Antigua. On September 12, a civilian vessel carrying grain from Ukraine to Egypt across the Black Sea was hit by a missile, damaging its wheat cargo.

Deputy Prime Minister for restoration of Ukraine Andriy Kuleba described two-day strikes on Black Sea shipping as a “deliberate practice of intimidation and obstruction of the Ukrainian sea corridor”, noting that Russia is thus trying to disrupt navigation in the Black Sea again and undermine Ukraine’s efforts to ensure food security. He also emphasized the consequences it can lead to, such as “instability in sensitive regions of the world that depend on food imports and unrest in international relations”.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha also called Russia’s attacks a “deliberate terrorist tactic” calling on responsible states and organizations to join forces to stop the aggressor ( Russia).

The Russian authorities have not yet commented on the reports from Odessa.