The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) reported this on Facebook, according to Ukrinform.

"Today, Russia attacked for the third time a Liberian-flagged civilian vessel that was anchored at a roadstead near the approaches to the port of Odesa," the statement said.

According to the USPA, the vessel was empty and had no crew on board at the time of the attack. Smoke was reported in the area of the wheelhouse following the strike.

"Repeated strikes on the same civilian vessel once again demonstrate the nature of Russian attacks: it is not only port infrastructure or cargo that is being targeted, but the civilian merchant fleet itself," the USPA said.

Read also:Four injured, industrial facility, port infrastructure damaged in Russian attack on Mykolaiv region

Russia is systematically threatening international shipping in the Black Sea, seeking to disrupt Ukraine's maritime logistics and undermine the safety of commercial shipping, the USPA said.

Ukraine's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Volodymyr Pavlichenko said at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, July 27, that Russia was waging a deliberate campaign against Ukrainian grain exports and attempting to block maritime trade routes in the Black Sea, posing a threat to global food security.

Photos: Oleksii Dovbysh, Ukrinform