Six crew members were killed and four remain missing after three Russian cruise missiles struck the Turkish-owned cargo vessel Golden Leo as it departed the port of Odesa carrying grain, according to statements by Ukraine’s navy and transport minister on Sunday. The ship, sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau, was hit on the starboard side of its superstructure, causing a fire on board. Eight crew members were rescued and taken to hospital in Odesa; the victims included the Ukrainian captain, while other crew members were nationals of Syria and India, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.

Kyiv described the strike as a deliberate attack on an unarmed civilian vessel and a violation of international humanitarian law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky accused Russia of committing war crimes and undermining Black Sea security. The incident occurred hours after Moscow launched what President Volodymyr Zelensky called “one of the largest ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv,” with more than 40 missiles fired, including 25 ballistic missiles, killing one person and wounding 16. Further Russian strikes on Kharkiv, Odesa and other cities brought the total death toll across Ukraine to at least 20 in 24 hours, local authorities reported.

Moscow, through its defence ministry, denied targeting civilians and stated that its forces had struck military installations and logistics centres in Kyiv, as well as port infrastructure in Odesa used by the Ukrainian military. The ministry did not directly address the Golden Leo incident, but Russian officials have previously asserted that cargo vessels in the area may be carrying military supplies. Viewed from Moscow, the strikes are presented as legitimate actions against military logistics, while Ukrainian and Western officials characterise them as part of a systematic campaign against civilian maritime trade.

The attack on the Golden Leo is the latest in a series of incidents that have heightened risks for commercial shipping in the Black Sea since the collapse of the UN-brokered grain deal. Ukraine has continued to export grain through a unilateral corridor, and Kyiv also claimed drone strikes on two Russian tankers and a floating crane in the Black and Azov seas over the weekend. Search and rescue operations for the missing crew members were ongoing as of Sunday night, and no independent verification of the circumstances was immediately available. The incident is expected to be raised in diplomatic channels, with Turkey yet to issue a formal statement on the fate of its flagged vessel.