A Russian missile strike on a ship carrying corn near Ukraine’s southern port of Odesa killed 10 people, Ukrainian officials said on Monday, in the deadliest attack in a weeks-long flare-up of violence in the Black Sea.Russia hit the Golden Leo – a Guinea-Bissau-flagged ship manned by a crew from India and Syria – with three cruise missiles, causing a fire on Sunday, Ukraine’s navy wrote on the Telegram messaging app.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.A Reuters witness in Odesa saw smoke billowing from a vessel off the coast on Sunday, which Reuters was able to confirm was the Golden Leo.A separate Russian attack on Odesa, Ukraine’s largest seaport, killed three people and wounded three others on Monday, Serhiy Lysak, head of the city’s military administration, said.He said infrastructure facilities came under attack but gave no further details.
Nighttime rescue operation
A search and rescue operation lasted all night, Ukraine’s seaports authority said, adding that nine crew members and one of its maritime pilots were killed. Eight of the vessel’s 17 crew members were rescued, it added.Golden Leo is owned by Mumbai-based Ocean Grace Shipping Ltd, according to LSEG data. Its manager, Friends Shipping Co SA, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.There was no immediate public comment from Moscow on the incident.
