Ten people were killed Monday after a Russian strike hit a commercial grain vessel shortly after it departed Ukraine’s port of Odesa, according to Ukrainian authorities. The ship, sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau, was carrying grain and had a crew of 17 civilians from Syria and India, along with a Ukrainian harbor pilot.

Ukraine’s Maritime Ports Authority said search-and-rescue operations continued through the night as firefighters brought the blaze under control. Eight crew members were rescued, while 10 people, including the Ukrainian pilot, were killed in the attack.

The strike comes amid escalating naval warfare in the Black Sea. In recent weeks, Ukrainian drone attacks have targeted dozens of Russian-linked vessels in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea as Kyiv seeks to disrupt Russian military logistics and commercial shipping routes linked to Crimea.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)