KYIV: Hours after Moscow declined to renew a pact allowing the secure transport of grain from the region, Kyiv’s military said on Tuesday that a Russian midnight strike had damaged port infrastructure facilities in Odesa, southern Ukraine.
According to a statement from Ukraine’s military southern command, 21 Iranian-built attack drones and six Kalibr missiles launched against Odesa were “destroyed” by air defences.
The southern command stated that several private homes and port infrastructure facilities had been damaged by the debris of the fallen missiles and the blast wave from the downing. The air force of Ukraine reported that out of the 36 drones that Russia launched overnight, 31 had been shot down in total across the nation.
The Odesa region is home to maritime facilities essential to the Moscow and Kyiv grain export deal, making it possible for more than 32 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain to be sent in the previous year.
According to the local governor Vitaliy Kim, an “industrial facility” in the southern port city of Mykolaiv was also attacked overnight. He added that there were no casualties, and a fire had started before being put out.
Ukraine’s Black Sea ports face issues
During Moscow’s incursion last year, warships obstructed Ukraine’s Black Sea ports until the UN and Turkey-mediated deal, signed in July 2022, allowed for the passage of crucial grain imports. The United Nations expressed fury over Russia’s refusal to prolong the agreement on Monday, stating that millions of the world’s poorest people would “pay the price” for it.
AFP/APP—
