Vessel sinks a week after being struck by Russian fire, Ukrainian officials say

July 26 (Reuters) – An international cargo ship sank off Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa on Sunday, a week after Ukrainian officials said the ship was hit by Russian forces.

The Ukrainian port authority said that the Golden Lion ship, sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau, sank near the port. In the statement, it was stated that nine crew members were killed in the attack and eight were evacuated to a safe place.

In the statement, it was stated that the ship, which left the Chornomorsk port with a cargo of corn, was seriously damaged as a result of being bombed by Russian forces on July 19.

It was passing along the coast towards Romania through a corridor controlled by Ukraine.

The port authority said Russia’s action against the ship “violated international maritime law norms” and endangered the lives of the crew.

A Reuters witness in Odessa at the time saw smoke billowing from a large ship off the coast. Moscow has not commented publicly on the strike.

Russia has stepped up attacks in recent weeks on deep-water ports in southern Ukraine, which carry much of the country’s grain and other critical cargo in the fifth year of the war.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Chris Reese)