Russians kill four citizens of Syria and inujure two other people
Russians killed four citizens of the Syrian Arab Republic and injured a Ukrainian and a Syrian, in a missile strike on the port in Odesa on the evening of March 11, 2025.
“Yesterday evening [March 11], Russia struck the port in Odesa. A ballistic missile damaged the Barbados-flagged vessel MJ Pinar. Sadly, four people, Syrian citizens, were killed. The youngest victim was 18 and the oldest was 24,” Oleh Kiper, head of Odesa Oblast Military Administration, reported.
According to Kiper, the ship was loading wheat for export to Algeria at the time of the strike.
“It was an entirely civilian vessel,” he added.
In addition, another vessel, berths and grain storage warehouses were damaged in the strike.
In the last few moments, Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has paid his respects to the four Syrians, aged between 18 and 24.
“This is an attack on global food security and maritime safety,” Sybiha wrote on X.
ZMINA consistently reports on the ongoing international crimes in the Odesa Oblast.
Read also: Russian occupiers plan to export stolen Ukrainian coal through the port of occupied Mariupol
On March 1, ZMINA reported that a Russian ballistic missile hit port infrastructure and a Panama-flagged civilian vessel in Odesa.
Earlier, Vitaliy Koval, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, told Ukrinform that approximately 60% of Ukraine’s export revenue is provided by farmers and agricultural processors, and Ukrainian food supports 400 million people worldwide.
He said that farmers in Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and other regions, who frequently endure enemy shelling, are producing vast amounts of crops and playing a crucial role in ensuring international food security.
The Russian Federation uses temporarily occupied Crimea as a military foothold for its military aggression from the south of Ukraine, shelling Ukrainian cities from the peninsula. Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly stated the importance of de-occupying the Crimean Peninsula.
