Jakarta –
Secretary General of the United Nations (PBB), Antonio Guterres condemned Russian attacks on military infrastructure near the Black Sea port cities of Mykolaiv and Odesa in southern Ukraine. The United Nations saw the negative effects of the attack.
“This attack… has repercussions far beyond Ukraine. We have seen a negative effect on global wheat and maize prices that is hurting everyone, especially the vulnerable people in the global south,” Guterres said in a statement from his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.
As is known, wheat prices rose sharply on global markets after Russia said it would treat ships bound for Ukrainian ports as potential military targets.
“As of 00:00 Moscow time on July 20, 2023 [21:00 GMT Rabu]all ships sailing on the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports will be considered as carriers of military cargo”, said the Russian Ministry of Defense.
“Such a flag ship would be seen as being involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the part of the Kyiv regime,” he added.
This week, Moscow withdrew from a deal that previously guaranteed safe passage of grain shipments through the Black Sea.
A White House spokesman accused Russia of planning to blame Ukraine for the attack on the civilian vessel.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would soon return to the original deal if his demands were met, which included reconnecting Russia’s agricultural banks to the global payments system.
A Russian airstrike in the Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv injured 18 people on Wednesday (19/07) night, according to a local official.
The regional governor, Vitaliy Kim, said nine injured people, including five children, were taken to hospital for treatment.
Another airstrike was reported on Odesa Port.
Elsewhere, a drone strike in Russian-controlled Crimea killed a teenage girl, a Russian-backed official said.
After the area around Odesa was hit by airstrikes this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of deliberately targeting grain export infrastructure and endangering vulnerable countries.
Kyiv urged other countries in the Black Sea region to intervene to ensure a safe passage for cargo ships.
(deck/deck)
2023-07-20 19:07:00
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