KIEV, Ukraine – Ukraine said its forces shot down Russian drones and cruise missiles targeting the Black Sea port of Odessa before dawn on Tuesday, in what Moscow described as “retaliation” for an attack that damaged a key bridge to the Crimean peninsula.
The Russians first attempted to wear down Ukraine’s air defenses by firing 25 exploding drones and then targeted Odessa with six Kalibr cruise missiles, the Ukrainian military’s Southern Command said.
All six missiles and drones were shot down by anti-aircraft forces in the Odessa region and other areas in the south, officials said, although their debris and shockwaves damaged some port facilities and some residential buildings, injuring an elderly man at his home.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its “retaliatory strike” was carried out with sea-launched precision weapons against Ukrainian military installations near Odessa and Mykolayiv, a coastal city about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast.
It destroyed facilities preparing “terrorist attacks” against Russia using sea drones, including a facility at a shipyard that manufactures such drones, the ministry said. It added that Ukrainian fuel depots near the two cities were also hit.
The conflicting claims made by both countries could not be verified.
President Vladimir Putin on Monday blamed Ukraine for the attack on the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia to Crimea. She was attacked in October 2022 and required months of repairs. The bridge is a key supply route for the peninsula illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Ukrainian officials were reluctant to claim direct responsibility, as they had in similar attacks before, but Ukraine’s top security service appeared to tacitly admit a role.
Satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies on Monday showed severe damage to both the east and west directions of the bridge over the Kerch Strait on the part closest to mainland Russia, with at least one section having collapsed. The railway bridge running parallel to the Autobahn appeared undamaged.
The Russian military has sporadically attacked Odessa and the adjacent region throughout the war, but Tuesday’s barrage was one of the largest attacks in the region.
Ukrainian forces have attacked Crimea with drones and other attacks. Kiev has vowed to remove it from Russian control, arguing that the peninsula plays a key role in sustaining the Russian invasion and is a legitimate target.
The attack also came a day after Russia broke a deal that had allowed wartime Ukraine to get vital shipments of grain from Odessa. Moscow said the decision had been in the works long before the bridge attack.
Nonetheless, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, without providing any evidence, claimed that the specific shipping lanes and routes used under the agreement to transport grain were abused by Ukraine.
“Our military has repeatedly stated that Ukraine used these grain corridors for military purposes,” Peskov told reporters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine will continue to implement the grain agreement. Peskow warned that such an approach would be risky, since the region is close to a combat zone.
“If they try to do something without Russia, these risks have to be taken into account,” Peskov told reporters.
Zelenskyy said grain exports by sea and port security are high on the agenda of Tuesday’s meeting with senior military commanders and government officials. He added that he had received reports on logistics and protecting coastal areas.
Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said Russia is endangering the lives of millions around the world who depend on Ukrainian grain exports. Hunger is a growing threat in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and high food prices have pushed increasing numbers of people into poverty.
“The world must realize that the goal of the Russian Federation is starvation and killing of people,” Yermak said. “They need waves of refugees. With this they want to weaken the West.”
The United Nations and Ukraine’s western allies have criticized Moscow for halting the Black Sea Grains Initiative.
At the United Nations, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said “very active discussions” continue with the world body and other countries and organizations on how to keep the flow of grain going. However, a key question is what would happen if Russia attacked a Ukrainian shipment of grain.
When asked if he was talking about an international force or an operation to protect supplies, he replied to reporters: “Everyone is looking for a way out and every option is on the table.”
Earlier, he urged countries at a general assembly to demand that Russia return to the deal and “end its hunger games.”
USAID is providing Ukraine with an additional US$250 million to support its agricultural sector after its director, Samantha Power, visited Odessa and rebuked Moscow for its stance.
“Russia’s disruption of maritime trade since the start of its full-scale invasion, including blocking ports, delaying ship inspections and, most recently, withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, has severely limited the amount of grain Ukraine can supply to the world amid a global food crisis,” said a USAID statement.
The Kremlin said the deal would be suspended until Moscow’s demands to lift restrictions on Russian food and fertilizer exports to the world were met. Peskov reiterated an earlier pledge by the Kremlin to provide free grain to particularly poor countries in Africa, adding that the issue will be discussed at a Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg next week.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces thwarted a Ukrainian attack on Crimea using 28 drones.
According to the ministry, 17 of the attacking drones were shot down and 11 others electronically blocked and crashed, with no damage or casualties.
Also on Tuesday, satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press showed a convoy of vehicles arriving at a once-abandoned military base in Belarus that was offered to Russia’s private military contractor Wagner. This was followed last month by a short-lived uprising by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin against the Russian Defense Ministry.
Photos taken on Monday show a long line of vehicles pulling off a highway into the base near the Belarusian city of Osipovichi, some 75 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of the capital Minsk.
Belarussky Hajun, an activist group that monitors troop movements in Belarus, said several convoys carrying Wagner fighters had entered the country since last week, including at least 170 vehicles on Tuesday. It is estimated that there are currently around 2,500 Wagner mercenaries in Belarus.
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Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, UAE, and Jennifer Peltz of the United Nations contributed.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine