ODESA — A Russian attack on a commercial cargo vessel in Ukraine’s southern Black Sea port of Odesa killed the ship’s Ukrainian captain, Ukrainian authorities said on Wednesday.
Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa regional administration, said Russian forces targeted a commercial cargo ship sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda. The captain, a Ukrainian citizen, was killed in the attack. The Ukrainian Sea Port Authority said the vessel came under fire while sailing in the Black Sea.
Ukrainian authorities also reported damage to civilian port infrastructure during the overnight attack, with fires breaking out at facilities in the port area.
The strike comes amid a broader increase in attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea. According to Turkey’s IMEAK Chamber of Shipping, at least 226 civilian and commercial vessels have been hit in the Black Sea since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Of those incidents, 163 — around 70 percent — occurred during the first eight months of 2026.
Commercial shipping has increasingly become exposed to the wider escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war. A separate Russian drone attack on September 17 killed the captain of a Tanzanian-flagged civilian vessel heading toward a Ukrainian port and injured three crew members.
The attacks have raised growing concerns over maritime security and Ukraine’s ability to maintain vital export routes through the Black Sea. Marine insurers in London recently expanded the area classified as high risk to cover the entire Black Sea amid the increase in attacks on commercial shipping.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea as “unacceptable,” regardless of which side was responsible. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Erdoğan called for an end to attacks on civilian shipping.
Türkiye has also proposed an arrangement aimed at ending attacks on civilian and commercial vessels, but Russia and Ukraine have so far failed to reach an agreement on the proposal.
The latest attack adds to the growing risks faced by crews operating in the Black Sea, where both Russian and Ukrainian strikes have increasingly affected commercial vessels and port infrastructure.
