Vladimir Putin unleashed a missile strike to ‘sink’ a cargo ship amid unconfirmed Russian claims it was carrying British weapons for use by Ukraine.
Two Iskander-M ballistic missiles hit the Panama-flagged container ship MSC LEVANTE F – reportedly Swiss-owned – soon after it arrived in Odesa on March 1, after making a stop in Turkey.
Two port workers were believed to have been wounded in the strike, which also damaged infrastructure, Ukrainian reports said.
The report of the attack comes as British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer today hosts Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders to discuss the future of the wartorn nation following the Ukrainian president’s televised spat with US president Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.
Russian Telegram channel TalipoV [sic] Online Z claimed that the vessel was loaded with drones and weaponry that had been collected from a NATO based in Turkey before being transported to Odesa in Ukraine.
However, the channel is run by pro-Putin, Crimea-based blogger Oleksandr Talipov, who was charged with ‘nation-based enmity against Ukrainian citizens’ and hate speech by Ukrainian prosecutors in 2022.
Tapipov said: ‘It was established that in Turkey the ship loaded additional containers of two colours on board – red and yellow – which contained British sea drones and weapons from the Turkish NATO base.
‘Upon arrival at the port of Odesa, the ship was hit by two missiles at berth number two at 18:00.
The container ship MSC LEVANTE F carrying yellow and red shipping containers that a Russian Telegram channel claimed contained ‘British sea drones and weapons from the Turkish NATO base’ – a claim directly challenged by the Ukrainian vice prime minister Oleksii Kuleba who said that the vessel was carrying ‘completely civilian cargo’
People run in fear after a loud explosion was heard by the sea port in Odesa on March 1 – believed to by the Russian strike on the container ship MSC LEVANTE F
Russian Iskander-M mobile short-range ballistic missiles (pictured here at the Army 2019 International Military Technical Forum in Patriot Park in Alabino, Moscow region) of the type reportedly used to sink the container ship MSC LEVANTE F
‘After the strike detonations began, the cargo was completely destroyed, the ship sank.’
Another pro-war Telegram channel Soprotivlenie claimed that the cargo ship was carrying other Western military cargo, including ‘radars and launch containers of ATACMS missiles’ supplied by the US.
A picture purportedly shows the containers visible on the vessel in Odesa shortly before it was hit.
However no proof was given on entire Telegram channel that the ship contained any military cargo, nor showed evidence of the extent of damage to the MSC LEVANTE F following the attack.
Ukrainian vice prime minister Oleksii Kuleba challenged the Russian account and said that the vessel was carrying ‘completely civilian cargoes’.
The container ship was struck as it prepared to unload, according to the Russian report.
A strike on the 482ft MSC LEVANTE F was confirmed by Odesa region governor Oleg Kiper.
‘The enemy fired a ballistic missile on Odesa,’ he said. ‘The attack damaged port infrastructure and a civilian vessel under the flag of the Republic of Panama owned by a European company.’
Deputy Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine Oleksiy Kuleba said a second ship was also hit, the Sierra Leone-flagged SUPER SARKAS.
A huge plume of smoke billows into the air in Odesa following a large explosion on March 1, captured by many users on social media
The attack comes as British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer today hosts Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders to discuss the future of the wartorn nation
A picture purportedly shows the containers visible on the vessel (back of shot, behind the cranes) in Odesa shortly before it was hit
Russian president Vladimir Putin has drastically ramped up military spending over the last year, increasing the military budget by a higher percentage than the rest of Europe combined
The MSC LEVANTE F pictured at Asyaport on the northern coast of the Sea of Marmara in Turkey – it’s location before heading to the Ukrainian city of Odesa
A Russian Iskander-M mobile short-range ballistic missile launcher pictured at a field show in 2019 – the type reportedly fired at the container ship MSC LEVANTE F
Both ‘damaged’ vessels had completely civilian cargoes, he said.
The Kyiv Independent reported: ‘No information was immediately available as to what the vessel was carrying, or the extent of the damage.’
At least 20 foreign merchant ships have been damaged in previous strikes by Russia, according to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
In July last year, the MSC LEVANTE F, which can carry approximately 13,634 tons, made the first call by an MSC container ship to Odesa since the start of the war in February 2022.
Before sailing to Odesa, the container ship docked at Asyaport, near Tekirdağ, on the northern coast of the Sea of Marmara in Turkey.
The MSC – Mediterranean Shipping Company – brand is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
