A Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian inland port of Izmail on the Danube has destroyed a seafarers’ centre run formerly by the International Transport Workers’ Federation Seafarers’ Trust.
In a statement, the Seafarers’ Trust said the building suffered significant damage but no injuries or fatalities resulted from the strike.
The centre has been housing families made homeless by bombing in other parts of the country.
The families staying at the centre had taken shelter in the basement at the time of the attack.
“We are in a state of shock. This centre was providing humanitarian support to seafarers and their families displaced by the war. This senseless destruction comes on top of the devastation already inflicted on the maritime cities of Mariupol, Kherson and latterly Odesa. When will it end?” asked Oleg Grigoryuk, chairman of the Marine Transport Workers’ Trade Union of Ukraine (MTWTU), which now runs the centre.
The centre was hit in the latest attack on Izmail’s port facilities yesterday.
Grain shipments via Danube barges had been expanding rapidly since the start of the war as an alternative export route for Ukraine grain, and the port has recently been targeted by Russia.
The drone attack damaged port infrastructure and grain silos, according to Ukrainian officials.
Katie Higginbottom, head of the ITF Seafarers’ Trust, said: “We are relieved that on this occasion there was no loss of life, but we are conscious of the relentless psychological stress caused by such vicious acts. We will be offering all possible support to our Ukrainian colleagues and standing by to repair the physical damage to the centre.”
David Heindel, chair of the ITF Seafarers’ Trust, said: “Our hearts go out to the seafarers’ families and staff of the centre. We are all witnessing the dreadful consequences of this senseless war from afar, but this brings it closer to home. Our seafarers’ families and union staff should not have to endure terror.”
