Turkish Civilian Ship Sinks Off Odesa After Russian Strike

The civilian vessel Golden Lion, struck on July 19 off the coast of Odesa, has sunk. According to Ukraine's Maritime Administration, posting on Telegram, the Russian attack caused severe damage to the ship's hull and superstructure, leaving it unable to move under its own power and eventually causing it to go under. No crew members were on board at the time the vessel sank.

The port authority noted that the earlier strike by Russian Kh-59 cruise missiles on the same ship had already killed nine crew members and a Ukrainian pilot. At the time of the attack, the vessel was sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau from the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk, carrying corn through the maritime corridor.

A witness who was in Odesa at the time reported seeing thick smoke rising from a large ship off the coast. Moscow has not officially commented on the strike.

In recent weeks, now in the fifth year of the war, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine's deep-water ports in the south, through which a significant share of the country's grain and other vital cargo passes.

"Attacks on merchant vessels constitute a gross violation by Russia of international maritime law and the principles of freedom of navigation, posing a direct threat to the lives of seafarers and undermining the stability of international shipping and global food security," the Ukrainian agency said.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz