Ukraine war: Russia hits Ukraine with grain after ending the sea deal

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July 19, 2023, 09:04 GMT

Updated 1 hour ago

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Watch: A video showing the impact of the attack on grain terminals in Odessa

Officials said Russian missile attacks on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast destroyed 60,000 tons of grain and damaged storage infrastructure.

Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky said a “significant amount” of export infrastructure was broken.

Russia withdrew from an international grain deal in place since last summer, guaranteeing safe passage for exports through the Black Sea.

The Kremlin has argued that its demands for Russian exports have not been met.

Within hours of pulling out of the grain deal on Monday, Russia bombed the southern port cities of Odessa and Mykolaiv in the early hours of Tuesday.

More strikes followed on Wednesday night, targeting grain terminals and port infrastructure in Odessa, and towards the Black Sea coast at Chornomorsk, two of the three ports that were included in the export deal.

Military spokesman in Odessa Serhiy Prachuk described the attack as “a really massive attack”. The Minister of Agriculture said that 60,000 tons destroyed in the strike “was supposed to be loaded onto a ship with a large tonnage and sent through the grain corridor 60 days ago.”

The Russian Defense Ministry later announced that, as of midnight Wednesday (21:00 GMT), any ships destined for Ukrainian ports would be considered potential carriers of military goods and a party to the conflict. It added that some northwestern and southeastern areas of the Black Sea would be temporarily dangerous to navigation.

Military officials said that at least 12 civilians, including a 9-year-old child, were injured during the attacks, which also damaged residential buildings.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that each missile strike was a blow not only to Ukraine, but to “everyone in the world who seeks a normal and safe life”.

France and Germany also condemned the attack. German Foreign Minister Analina Berbock said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, by covering Odessa with bombs, has robbed the world of any hope for Ukrainian grain and is “beating the poorest of the world.”

Image source, State Emergency Service of Ukraine

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Ukrainian officials said that private traders suffered the most from the missile strikes

The Ministry of Infrastructure has released a series of photos showing damage to silos and other grain facilities. Officials said damage was caused to docks and tanks, but international traders and Ukrainians suffered the most.

Russian war commentators said the damage proved that Kiev was unable to shoot down the majority of Russian missiles and drones.

The officials said the coordinated attack included Kalibr cruise missiles, Onyx supersonic missiles, Kh-22 anti-ship missiles, as well as kamikaze aircraft launched from the Black Sea, Crimea and southern Russia. They said that although 37 Russian missiles and drones were shot down, a number of them penetrated the Ukrainian defences.

“I saw a red flash in the window and I reacted immediately,” one resident told Reuters news agency.

“I went downstairs, it was noisy and smoky, people were panicking, some were crying, shards of glass were flying everywhere. It was impossible to stay in the area.”

Russia described its initial assault on Odessa as a “collective retaliation” for an attack on the bridge Russia had built over the Kerch Strait linking occupied Crimea with Russia. Drones carried in the sea were blamed for Monday’s bridge attack that destroyed part of the bridge and killed a Russian couple.

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Explosions have been reported for several hours from an ammunition depot in Crimea

Crimea saw more turmoil on Wednesday. About 2,200 residents have been evacuated from four villages near a military training ground after a fire caused hours of explosions at a nearby ammunition depot.

The Russian-installed officials also closed a 12-kilometre (7.5-mile) section of the Tavrida highway linking the cities of Simferopol and Sevastopol in southern Crimea to the bridge over the Kerch Strait. The construction of the road by the Russian occupation authorities began in 2017.

A series of explosions were heard in the area starting at 04:30 (01:30 GMT) on Wednesday.

Officials did not say what caused the fire near the city of Stari Krym. However, unconfirmed reports on social media spoke of three Ukrainian strikes.

The Kremlin said Putin was briefed on the incident.

The appointed head of Russia in Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said that the cause of the fire, which occurred in the Military Square, is being investigated, but no one was injured.

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