One killed in Russian missile attack on ship at Ukraine's Odesa Port, local official claims

The governor of the Odesa Region in southwestern Ukraine has confirmed that one person was killed while five others suffered varying degrees of injury as a result of a missile attack by Russian forces against the Black Sea port of Odesa on Monday, October 7.

Speaking via Telegram, Governor Oleh Kipper said that the missile struck a Palau-flagged cargo vessel, and the resulting blast killed one Ukrainian national and injured five foreign nationals. The name of the vessel and the extent of the damage it sustained were not disclosed.

Ukraine's Restoration Ministry said the attack is the second one targeting a ship in Southern Ukraine since Sunday, October 6, when a missile struck and damaged a Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged grain carrier at the Port of Yuzhny 30 kilometres east of Odesa Port.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter) condemning both attacks and calling on the international community to "ensure freedom of navigation in the Black Sea."

Russia has meanwhile not published any comments on its supposed role in the attack on the ship at Odesa, but the country's defence officials claimed the ship at Yuzhny had been targeted for transporting weapons and ammunition for use by Ukraine's own armed forces.