Watch: Russia Destroys Cargo Ship Delivering Ammunition To Ukraine In The Black Sea

Russian forces have hit a civilian vessel docked at Ukraine’s port of Yuzhny using an Iskander-M missile during a nighttime missile raid on October 5, per Russian and Ukrainian reports.

The attack is the third strike against a Ukrainian-bound ship in the Black Sea in less than a month.

Russian state media released infrared drone footage of the missile’s approach and subsequent explosion. Per the Russian officials, the blast triggered a secondary explosion caused by ammunition on board the ship.

Moscow said the cargo ship was carrying European-supplied weapons bound for Ukraine, but Ukrainian authorities have not confirmed these claims.

The name of the targeted vessel has not been released. However, Odesa regional head Oleg Kiper stated that no crew members were injured.

The Russian forces targeted several locations, including a gas pipeline, cargo trucks, and warehouses, with about 90 drones attacking in multiple waves.

The strikes caused major infrastructure damage, and in Kyiv, one warehouse security guard was injured and hospitalized. Ukrainian military officials verified the missile attacks but did not release any further information about the vessel.

The latest attacks escalate the regional tensions even further. Per the UK Defence Intelligence, Russian forces have frequently targeted Ukrainian-bound vessels, sometimes unintentionally.

Russia says they struck a container ship in Odessa that was delivering ammunition to Ukraine pic.twitter.com/S7q5WnXGoV

— Preston Stewart (@prestonstew_) October 6, 2024

Video Credits: Preston Stewart/X

The September 11 missile strike on the bulker Aya was most likely a mistake due to Russian pilots’ poor aiming.

The vessel was hit by an AS-4 anti-ship missile, although UK sources said the bomber was likely aiming for a land target or a nearby location, and the aging missile may not have detonated as intended.

The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed in a statement that one of its Iskander-M missiles hit a ship at Yuzhny port, describing the vessel as a “container ship tanker” in its English-language Telegram channel.

Vessel trackers revealed that over ten ships were at the port during the attack, though none were container ships. Several general cargo ships and handy bulkers, possibly carrying containers, were docked in Yuzhny at the time.

Per the Ukrainian news website Dumskaya, the strike damaged a civilian dry cargo ship, though no casualties were reported.

Ukrainian officials have been silent about the incident, which occurred amid a series of Russian attacks on the Odesa region. The targeted vessel was reportedly unloading its cargo at the time of the missile strike.

The latest attack comes after a similar incident on September 21, in which a dry cargo ship was damaged during a Russian air attack on Odesa.

While the name of the vessel has not been revealed, ships matching its description, the 6,300-dwt general cargo ships Silver Lion and Golden Lion, have since left Ukrainian waters.

Russian officials have stated that vessels carrying war equipment supplied by Western allies to Ukraine will continue to be on the target list of the ongoing strikes.

Reference: Defense Mirror, TradeWinds

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