Russians may have mistakenly hit civilian grain carrier on its way from Odesa - British intelligence
On September 12, Russians shot at the civilian grain carrier MV Aya, which was heading from Odesa to Egypt with 26 thousand tons of grain. It was probably done by accident.
According to Censor.NET, this is stated in an intelligence review by the UK Ministry of Defense.
Intelligence analysts believe that the strike was almost certainly caused by an Kh-22 air-launched anti-ship missile (NATO classification - AS-4 Kitchen) from a Russian Tu-22, and catastrophic consequences for the ship were avoided due to a malfunction in the detonation mechanism.
"It is unlikely that the MV Aya was the intentional target of this strike - it was probably hit due to flawed targeting procedures by Russian pilots, who also used old munitions," the review notes.
The analysts remind that the Russians have repeatedly struck areas along Ukraine's Black Sea coast, including the strategic Zmeinyi Island, to impede exports and destroy military targets, but after the loss of the Tu-22 in April 2024, operations have become more cautious.
"There is a realistic possibility that the incident was caused by the pilots misidentifying the MV Aya as a target due to their haste, as they wanted to get out of the launch area immediately for fear of being hit by Ukrainian surface-to-air missiles.
The Kh-22 missile has consistently performed poorly in the war in Ukraine. Launching a supersonic cruise missile on the wrong course and probably at the wrong target in international waters is evidence of very poor and irresponsible aviation practices," the review concludes.
