A Russian ballistic missile strike on the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa overnight killed four people and damaged a Barbados-flagged cargo ship, Ukrainian authorities said Wednesday.
The attack late Tuesday came as Ukraine backed a U.S. proposal for a 30-day cease-fire and agreed to immediate negotiations with Russia.
Ukrainian officials said the strike occurred while the cargo ship was loaded with grain bound for Algeria.
"Unfortunately, four people died – citizens of Syria. The youngest victim was 18, the oldest 24. Two more people were wounded – a Ukrainian and a Syrian," Vice Prime Minister for Reconstruction Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on social media.
"Russia is attacking Ukraine's infrastructure, including ports crucial to global food security," he added.
Separately, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region said a 47-year-old woman was killed in a Russian missile attack on the central city of Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched three missiles and 133 drones overnight, including Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones. Air defense units shot down 98 of them, the statement added.
