Russia says the ship it hit off Odesa carried military cargo; no Ukrainian, owner or crew account has reached us

The claim. Regnum and the state news agency RIA Novosti say Russian forces struck a cargo ship in the Black Sea. Both say it was carrying military goods to the port of Odesa.

One source. Regnum says the Russian defence ministry made the statement on 2 October. RIA Novosti's report, as we hold it, is a headline only, and that headline names no source. Neither report adds a second voice.

Stated as fact. Both headlines call the cargo military in the outlet's own voice. In Regnum the source is named only in the next sentence. Regnum also carries the ministry's line that Russia "continues to strike Ukrainian infrastructure and sea vessels".

What is not settled - Whether a ship was hit at all. Only the side that says it fired has spoken. - Which ship it was, who owns it, and what flag it flies. - What it carried. "Military property" is the ministry's description, and no one has checked it. - Whether anyone aboard was killed or hurt. - What Ukraine says. We hold no Ukrainian account, and we cannot tell yet whether Kyiv has commented or whether we simply have not read it.

What this is about. Russia says it attacked a merchant ship sailing to Odesa, Ukraine's main seaport, in the Black Sea.

How it got here. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Russia had already annexed Crimea in 2014, and it went on to seize much of Ukraine's Black Sea and Azov coast. Ukraine kept Odesa and the ports around it. In July 2022 the UN and Turkey brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which gave ships carrying Ukrainian grain safe passage. Russia left that deal in July 2023. Its defence ministry then said it would treat ships heading for Ukrainian ports as possible carriers of military cargo. Ukraine opened its own shipping corridor along its western coast. With sea drones and missiles, it also pushed much of Russia's Black Sea Fleet back from the western part of the sea. Since then, ports, port cities and ships have all been targets.

Who is involved. - Russia says ships bound for Ukraine supply its army, and that this makes them legitimate targets. - Ukraine relies on Odesa's ports for exports, above all grain. That trade keeps its economy and its budget going. - Shipowners, crews and insurers decide whether the route is worth the risk. They are often from third countries. - Turkey controls the Bosphorus under the 1936 Montreux Convention. It has kept the straits closed to the warships of both sides.

What is at stake. If Russia's account holds, the strike would be part of a campaign against supply by sea. If the ship was carrying ordinary cargo, it would be an attack on civilian shipping. Either way, each strike raises the cost of using the corridor for every vessel, and that cost falls on Ukraine's exports and the countries that buy them.

Where it stands. On 2 October, all we hold is Russia's statement as two Russian outlets carried it. The ship has not been named, and nothing in our reports confirms or disputes the account.