Dockworkers Killed and Crew Injured as Russian Missile Strikes Odesa Port

Ukrainian officials are speaking out calling today’s, July 3, missile strike in the Odesa port region a deliberate attack on civilian infrastructure and part of a Russian campaign against Ukraine’s economy and agriculture. Two dockworkers were killed and six others, including two Syrian crewmembers from a cargo ship in the port were injured.

An Iskander missile hit the port area on Thursday afternoon local time. According to the report, an unidentified cargo ship registered in São Tomé and Príncipe was on dock unloading metal. A longshore worker and a truck driver were killed in the attack, and six others were injured. At least one of the injured was a driver in the port, and the two crewmembers from the ship.

Other missile strikes were reported in parts of the city. Officials posted pictures of fires in a high-rise apartment building reported to have been struck in the early morning hours.

They also reported damage to port infrastructure. They said gantry cranes, equipment, and warehouses were damaged. Pictures posted online shows damaged containers and a truck.

 

Containers damaged in the Port of Odesa (Andrii Sybiha on Telegram)

 

“Russia has been shelling our ports for the fourth year in a row. It is hitting the infrastructure that connects Ukraine with the world,” said Oleksiy Kuleba, Vice Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, in a posting on social media. “This attack is yet another example of Russia’s deliberate attempt to destroy our transportation hubs, our export capabilities, and the lives of our civilians. Free and safe navigation must be the norm, not the exception.”

Kuleba contended in October 2024 that Russia attacked Ukraine’s port infrastructure 60 times in three months, damaging 300 port facilities, 177 vehicles, and 22 civilian vessels. He said 79 employees of ports, logistics companies, and ship crews were killed.

Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, also spoke out today, July 3, calling for an international response. He noted that they had recently toured Germany’s Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, through Odesa and showed him the damage in the city and port region.  He asserted that Moscow has only escalated the terror and rejected all attempts to achieve a ceasefire and advance peace. He said further international pressure is needed without delay.