Russian missiles were aimed at the Black Sea port of Odessa this Saturday, a day after Kyiv and Moscow signed an agreement allowing Ukraine’s war-stalled grain exports to resume.
Russian strikes targeted the port of Odessa this Saturday, Ukraine accused Vladimir Putin of “spitting in the face” at the UN and Turkey and endangering the application of the agreement signed the day before on the resumption of grain blocked by the war.
Odessa is the largest city and the most important port on the entire Black Sea coast, crucial for the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports amid the threat of world famine.
By launching cruise missiles at the port of Odessa, the Russian President “spatted in the face UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who have made tremendous efforts to reach this deal,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Oleg Nikolenko.
Ukraine immediately warned that Russia would take “full responsibility” if the grain export deal failed.
Russian strikes resume…
A spokesman for the Odessa region administration Sergey Brachuk said that two of the cruise missiles were shot down by anti-aircraft guns.
Central Ukraine was not spared this Saturday, either, after Russian attacks killed three people after a lull in fighting centered in Donbass to the east.
Thirteen Russian cruise missiles launched from the sea fell near the town of Kropyvnytskyi in the central Kirovograd region, its governor Andriy Raikovych said. He said railway infrastructure and a military airfield were attacked near the town of Kropyvnytskyi.
“Nine Ukrainian soldiers were injured and one soldier was killed,” he said.
… the day after a grain deal
These strikes come the day after the grain agreement, which the two warring parties initialed in two identical but separate texts, at the request of the Ukrainians, who have refused to sign with the Russians.
The African Union “welcomed” the agreement on Saturday, hailing a “welcome development” for the continent, which faces an increased risk of hunger. The agreement is expected to allow the export of 20-25 million tons of grain blocked in Ukraine.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – two countries that primarily supply 30% of world wheat exports – has pushed up grain and oil prices and hit hard the African continent, which depends heavily on these countries for its supplies.
food crisis
This price increase has worsened the situation of countries already facing a food crisis, particularly in the Horn of Africa (Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti), which is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years. Wheat prices fell sharply in Chicago and on Euronext on Friday, returning to pre-war levels in response to the Ukraine deal.
The signing of this hard-negotiated text under the auspices of the United Nations and Ankara took place in Istanbul, notably in the presence of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and President Erdogan.