YET ANOTHER ATTACK ON UKRAINE'S PORTS IMPACTING A CIVILIAN CREW AND VESSEL WHEN ENTERING THE PORT OF PIVDENNYI, ODESA

I am outraged to learn of an attack yesterday on a civilian vessel as it was entering the Ukrainian Black Sea Port of Pivdennyi in Odesa, killing a port worker and injuring crew members. I share my condolences with the family of the killed port pilot and hope for the recovery of the injured.

This happens just a few days after a series of attacks that killed and injured civilians, destroyed grain supplies and damaged a 124-year-old Fine Arts Museum in Odesa, in the south of Ukraine.

Yesterday's attack is one of over 30 attacks on Ukrainian port facilities since the termination of the Black Sea Initiative in July. This tragic incident marks the first time civilians are killed and injured on a civilian vessel.

The consequences of this brutal and relentless pattern of Russian attacks on port facilities are devasting for Ukraine's economy and the hundreds of millions of people facing hunger worldwide.

International humanitarian law strictly prohibits attacks on civilian infrastructure.

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9 November 2023

For further information, please contact:

Adedeji Ademigbuji, OCHA: +380 50 341 0798, adedeji.ademigbuji@un.org

Viktoriia Andriievska, OCHA: +380 50 419 63 23, viktoriia.andriievska@un.org

OCHA press releases are available at www.unocha.org or www.reliefweb.int