The death toll from a Russian attack on a cargo ship off the coast of Odessa has risen to 10. The Guinea-Bissau-flagged vessel was hit by a Russian cruise missile on Sunday, causing a massive fire on board.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the attack hit the ship "Golden Leo", while the search and rescue operation continued throughout the night. The Ukrainian Port Authority announced that by Monday morning nine crew members, as well as a port pilot, had been killed.
The Odessa region has become a major target of Russian airstrikes in recent weeks. The region's governor, Oleh Kiper, told Ukrainian television that 28 people were killed in Russian airstrikes in the area in July alone.
The attack on the Golden Leo is considered the most serious attack on a merchant ship in the Black Sea since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Foreign-flagged merchant ships carrying international crews are part of Ukraine's maritime export corridor, which allows goods to be transported along the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria to Turkey and international markets.
Exports by sea account for more than two-thirds of Ukraine's agricultural exports, worth about $9 billion, making them an important source of revenue for the Ukrainian economy.
For more than four years, the fighting in the Black Sea has remained tense. While Russia has maintained control over much of the coastline, Ukraine has used naval drones to strike Russian capabilities and force Moscow to keep its more heavily protected fleet at naval bases in the eastern Black Sea.
