Vladimir Putin launches assault on ship ‘carrying British weapons for Ukraine’

Russian President Vladimir Putin struck a cargo ship with missiles to “sink” it after unconfirmed Russian sources alleged that the ship carried British weapons to assist Ukraine.

Two Iskander-M ballistic missiles hit the reportedly Swiss-owned MSC LEVANTE F, a Panama-flagged container ship.

The ship was struck quickly after it reached Odesa in Ukraine on March 1 after making a cease in Turkey.

Based on Ukrainian officers, the missile strike broken infrastructure and wounded two port employees.

Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba denied Russian allegations, stating that the vessel carried “fully civilian cargoes.”

The report of the assault follows British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s assembly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and different European leaders to debate the way forward for Ukraine as Moscow continues to rain assaults on Kyiv following Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Zelensky departed Washington on Friday after a surprisingly heated public change with US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, with the US officers alleging that he had did not thank the US for his or her assist.

Based on Russian Telegram channel TalipoV On-line Z, the ship that was struck contained drones and weaponry collected from a NATO ally in Turkey earlier than being taken to the Ukrainian metropolis of Odesa.

“It was established that in Turkey the ship loaded extra containers of two colors on board – crimson and yellow – which contained British sea drones and weapons from the Turkish NATO base,” the channel claimed.

“Upon arrival on the port of Odesa, the ship was hit by two missiles at berth quantity two at 18:00,” it added.

The Telegram channel is operated by Oleksandr Talipov, a pro-Putin blogger primarily based in Crimea who was charged with hate speech and “nation-based enmity towards Ukrainian residents” in 2022.

“After the strike detonations started, the cargo was fully destroyed, the ship sank,” Talipov alleged.

Soprotivlenie, one other pro-war Telegram channel, mentioned that the cargo ship additionally carried different Western army cargo, specifically “radars and launch containers of ATACMS missiles.”

Former president Joe Biden had licensed Zelensky to make use of US-made ATACMS missiles to strike deeper into Russia final yr after Putin’s forces ramped up assaults towards Kyiv.

Whereas purported photos of the alleged missile strike emerged on-line, not one of the Telegram channels offered any proof of the ship carrying army cargo or the harm brought on to the ship.

“No info was instantly out there as to what the vessel was carrying, or the extent of the harm,” The Kyiv Unbiased reported.