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Russia Targets Ukraine Black Sea Port Of Odesa After Halting Grain Export Deal
According to the Ukrainian military’s Southern Command, the Russians first tried to deplete Ukraine’s air defenses by launching 25 drones that exploded before launching six Kalibr cruise missiles at Odesa.
According to officials, air defenses in the Odesa region and other southern areas fired down all six missiles and drones, but their debris and shockwaves damaged some port infrastructure, and a few residential structures, and injured an elderly man at his home.
According to the Russian defense ministry, the “strike of retribution” was carried out on Ukrainian military installations close to Odesa and Mykolaiv, a coastal city located approximately 30 miles to the northeast, using precise missiles launched from ships.
According to the ministry, it destroyed facilities that were plotting “terror attacks” against Russia using maritime drones, including a facility at a shipyard that was manufacturing them.
It claimed to have hit Ukrainian gasoline supplies close to the two cities as well. The contradictory allegations made by the two countries could not be independently verified.
Monday’s attack on the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia and Crimea and was also targeted in October 2022 and required months of repairs, was attributed to Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The bridge is an important conduit for supplies to reach the peninsula, which Moscow illegally occupied in 2014.
Unlike in previous comparable attacks, Ukrainian officials refrained from accepting direct blame, but Ukraine’s main security agency seemed to imply that it played a part.
On the portion of the bridge closest to the Russian mainland, satellite photographs showed severe damage to both the eastbound and westbound lanes, with at least one piece fallen.
The railroad bridge that crosses the road parallel to it appeared to be unharmed.
Throughout the war, the Russian military has occasionally attacked Odesa and the surrounding regions, but Tuesday’s onslaught was one of the most intense assaults.
Drones and other attacks have been used by the Ukrainian army to strike Crimea. Kyiv has pledged to take it back from Russian hands, claiming that the peninsula is a legitimate target because it is crucial to maintaining the Russian invasion.
A day before, Russia had reneged on a pact that had allowed Ukraine to transfer crucial grain supplies from Odesa during the conflict.
Moscow said that the choice had been made before the bridge strike. Even nevertheless, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed—without providing any supporting data—that Ukraine had misused the specific shipping lanes and routes utilized for the grain transport covered by the agreement.
The use of these grain lanes for military reasons by Ukraine has been repeatedly denied by our military, Mr. Peskov told reporters.
“If they try to do something without Russia, these risks must be taken into account,” Mr Peskov told reporters.
Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said Russia is endangering the lives of millions of people around the world who need Ukrainian grain exports.
Hunger is a growing threat in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and high food prices have pushed more people into poverty.
“The world must realize that the goal of the Russian Federation is hunger and killing people,” Mr. Yermak said.
“They need waves of refugees. They want to weaken the West with this.”
The United Nations and Ukraine’s Western allies criticized Moscow for halting the Black Sea Grain Initiative, saying it put many lives in peril.
The Kremlin said the agreement will be suspended until Moscow’s demands to lift restrictions on exports of Russian food and fertilizer to the world are met.
Mr Peskov on Tuesday reaffirmed an earlier Kremlin pledge to provide especially poor countries in Africa with grain for free, saying the issue will be discussed at a Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg next week.
