Russian Defense Ministry reported a strike on a bulk carrier carrying military property in the port of Odesa

Strike in the port of Odesa

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that on the afternoon of November 4, as a result of a strike in the port of Odesa, a bulk carrier was hit which, according to the ministry's wording, was 'delivering military property and dual-use goods to Ukraine.' This was reported by Gazeta.Ru and Life.ru, citing the ministry's press service. Life.ru, however, specifies that the strike was carried out by drones; Gazeta.Ru's report does not mention the method of the strike.

A series of reports over several days

The November 4 statement continued a series of similar reports from the Ministry of Defense over the preceding days. On November 3, the ministry reported hitting two seagoing vesselscarrying military property for the Ukrainian army — one in the Black Sea, the other in the port of Pivdennyi; at the same time, according to the ministry, a strike was carried out on the infrastructure of the port of Kiliia. Earlier, on November 2 it was reported that a bulk carrier carrying cargo for the Ukrainian armed forces was attacked at sea south of Odesa, along with strikes on port infrastructure and seagoing vessels used in the interests of the Ukrainian army.

What is known and what remains unclear

All information about these strikes comes from the Russian defense ministry and is relayed by the publications; the cited reports contain no independent confirmation or reaction from the Ukrainian side. The reports also do not specify the name of the vessel, its owner, the volume and nature of the cargo, or any information about casualties. The difference in details between the reports concerns only the method of the strike: Life.ru speaks of drones, while Gazeta.Ru does not mention this point.