Six people were confirmed dead and four remained missing after the cargo ship Golden Leo was struck by three cruise missiles in the Black Sea on 19 July 2026, according to the latest information released by Ukrainian authorities.
Eight people were rescued from the vessel. Two of the survivors were injured, Ukraine’s transport minister Mykola Kalashnyk said. Earlier official reports had listed five people dead and five missing.
Ukraine’s Navy attributed the attack to Russian forces and said Golden Leo was carrying grain while leaving the combat zone near Odesa. The Navy identified the weapons as Kh-59/Kh-69 cruise missiles.
The Navy described Golden Leo as a Turkish-owned civilian cargo ship sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau. It said the vessel presented no military threat when it was hit.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said the dead included a Ukrainian maritime pilot and members of the ship’s crew. Syrian and Indian nationals were among those serving aboard the vessel.
The missiles hit the starboard side of the ship’s superstructure and caused a fire, according to the Ukrainian account. The full extent of the damage had not been established in the available official updates.
Ukrainian officials condemned the strike as an intentional attack on civilian navigation. The Navy also described it as a violation of international humanitarian law. These assessments were issued by Ukrainian authorities and had not been independently established in the information available at the time of publication.
The incident occurred as Golden Leo was transporting grain from a Ukrainian port through the Black Sea. The four missing people remained unaccounted for under the latest casualty update.
