Smoke rises from the Golden Leo after the vessel was struck by a Russian missile. [AP]
Smoke rises from the Golden Leo after the vessel was struck by a Russian missile. [AP]

A Turkish-owned cargo ship came under Russian missile attack in the Black Sea on Sunday (local time), killing at least six people, as Russia and Ukraine continued to trade blows across the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.

Ukraine's navy said on social media that the Golden Leo, a Turkish cargo vessel registered in Guinea-Bissau, was struck by a Russian cruise missile, triggering a fire on board, according to AFP and DPA. The ship had departed Odesa port carrying grain and was hit in nearby waters.

Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Mykola Kalashnyk said on Telegram that eight crew members had been rescued and two were injured, adding that six deaths had been confirmed so far and four people remained missing.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said one of the dead was a Ukrainian maritime pilot and that crew members of Indian and Syrian nationality were also on board.

Sybiha accused Vladimir Putin of treating civilian vessels, international seafarers and shipping lanes vital to global food security as targets. "Putin's Russia does not care who it kills," he said.

The Sea of Azov is a key export route for Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter.

Russia and Ukraine have recently escalated their conflict beyond land-based missile and drone strikes, clashing fiercely in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov as each side targets the other's maritime supply lines. Merchant ships transiting the area have increasingly come under fire as a result.

Russia has particularly concentrated its attacks along the Black Sea coast near Odesa port, which plays a central role in Ukraine's grain procurement and shipment operations.

On Sunday, Russia also struck port facilities in Odesa, killing one person. In response, Ukraine stepped up its attacks near the Sea of Azov in an effort to isolate the Crimean Peninsula and cut off supplies to Russian-occupied territories.


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