The Black Sea cargo ship attack near Odesa has left 10 people dead after Russian cruise missiles struck a Guinea-Bissau-flagged vessel off the Ukrainian coast, Ukrainian officials said. The ship was hit on Sunday, and the death toll rose by Monday morning after a search and rescue operation that continued through the night.
Ukraine’s air force said the strike caused a fire aboard the ship. By Monday, the country’s seaports authority said nine crew members had been killed, along with one pilot. India later said four of its citizens died in the attack. The Indian foreign ministry called the killing of crew members and any obstruction of freedom of navigation deplorable and said it should be avoided.
The attack on the Golden Leo was the deadliest of its kind, according to the report. It also underlined how exposed Ukraine’s maritime corridor remains as Russia steps up pressure on Black Sea shipping. Foreign-flagged vessels such as the Golden Leo use Ukraine’s last open export route, sailing along the Romanian and Bulgarian coasts before continuing to Turkey.
That route matters far beyond the battlefield. Maritime exports make up more than two-thirds of Ukraine’s agricultural exports and are worth roughly $9 billion. For Kyiv, that trade is a major source of income, so attacks on cargo ships carry both military and economic weight. Officials in Ukraine have warned that Russia’s renewed strikes may be aimed at frightening foreign companies away from buying Ukrainian goods or using the corridor at all.
Officials in the Odesa region say the area has faced intense bombardment in recent weeks. Regional head Oleh Kiper told Ukrainian television that 28 people died in Russian strikes there in July alone. He also said the coast remains dangerous because drones and missiles are often launched from the sea, even as Odesa continues to attract holidaymakers and beachgoers.
