Russian Drones Strike Ukrainian Port City, Causing Significant Damage and Fires

Russian Drones Target Ukrainian Port City, Causing Significant Damage and Fire

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones launched an attack on a Ukrainian port city along the border with NATO member Romania on Wednesday, causing extensive damage and a massive fire at facilities crucial to Ukrainian grain exports. This comes after Russia ended a deal that allowed Ukrainian shipments to world markets through the city of Odesa.

Over the past two weeks, Russia has targeted Ukraine’s ports with strikes, using dozens of drones and missiles to attack the port of Odesa and the region’s river ports, which are being used as alternative routes.

The head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andriy Yermak, confirmed that the city of Izmail was hit in the strikes. Izmail is located on the Danube River, which forms part of the Ukraine-Romania border.

Video footage obtained by The Associated Press showed explosions and a large fire in the distance on the Danube, captured by fishermen in Romania on the other side of the river.

Currently, three Ukrainian ports along the Danube are still operating.

“The goal of the enemy was clearly the facilities of the ports and industrial infrastructure of the region,” Ukraine’s South operational command wrote in an update on Facebook. The attack resulted in a fire at industrial and port facilities, as well as damage to a grain elevator.

Ukraine’s air force intercepted 23 Shahed drones overnight, mostly in Odesa and Kyiv, according to a morning update.

Serhii Popko, the head of Kyiv City Administration, stated that all 10 drones fired at Kyiv were intercepted. Numerous loud explosions were heard overnight as air defense systems were activated. Debris from the downed drones hit three districts of the capital, damaging a nonresidential building.

“Russian terrorists have once again targeted ports, grain facilities, and global food security,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on Telegram. “The world must respond.”

Zelenskyy confirmed that some drones hit their targets, causing the most significant damage in the south of Ukraine.

Following the new attacks, wheat prices rose about 3% and corn prices were up nearly 2% on Wednesday, highlighting the continued volatility in world markets as Russia targets Ukraine’s ports and agricultural infrastructure.

Ukraine is a major supplier of wheat, corn, vegetable oil, and other agricultural products that are important to regions such as the Middle East, Africa, and parts of Asia, where people are struggling with high food prices and hunger.

While Ukraine can export its goods by road and rail through Europe, these routes are more costly than going by the Black Sea and have caused divisions among nearby countries.

Russia and Ukraine agreed on a deal a year ago, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, that reopened three Ukrainian Black Sea ports that had been blocked by fighting. The agreement also provided assurances that ships entering the ports would not be attacked. However, Russia declined to renew the agreement last month, citing delays in its own exports.

In a telephone conversation on Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Russia’s Vladimir Putin that he would seek to restore the Black Sea initiative to export Ukrainian grain, according to his office. Erdogan referred to the deal as a “bridge of peace” and stated that Turkey would continue its efforts and diplomacy for the continuation of the Black Sea initiative.

The statement did not provide a date for Putin’s visit to Turkey, but Erdogan had previously mentioned that it would take place in August.

A Kremlin statement about the call confirmed the readiness to return to the Istanbul agreements once the West fulfills all its obligations to Russia. The statement also mentioned preparations for a possible meeting between Putin and Erdogan.

In the recent attacks, two civilians were wounded in the shelling of the city of Kherson, and a doctor was killed while five medical personnel were wounded in an attack on a city hospital in Kherson. Additionally, a 91-year-old woman died in an attack on a village in the Kharkiv region. In the eastern region of Donetsk, four people were wounded in Russian shelling over the past day, and the area around the city of Nikopol was shelled three times.

Associated Press writers Courtney Bonnell in London and Jim Heintz in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

What are the potential consequences of these attacks on Ukraine’s agricultural exports for global food security and regions facing high food prices and hunger

Recent attacks on its ports and agricultural infrastructure have disrupted its ability to efficiently transport goods to world markets. These attacks, carried out by Russian drones, have caused significant damage and a massive fire at facilities crucial to Ukrainian grain exports.

The city of Izmail, located on the Danube River near the Ukraine-Romania border, was hit in the strikes. Video footage obtained by The Associated Press showed explosions and a large fire in the distance, captured by fishermen in Romania on the other side of the river. Ukraine’s South operational command stated that the goal of the attacks was to target port facilities and industrial infrastructure in the region. A grain elevator was also damaged in the attack.

Ukraine’s air force managed to intercept 23 Shahed drones overnight, with most of them targeted in Odesa and Kyiv. However, some drones did hit their targets, causing significant damage in the southern part of Ukraine.

The attacks have further escalated tensions between Russia and Ukraine, as Russia recently ended a deal that allowed Ukrainian shipments to reach global markets through the city of Odesa. This has led to Ukraine relying on alternative routes, including river ports, for its exports. Three Ukrainian ports along the Danube are still operating, but these recent attacks have further disrupted the country’s ability to export its agricultural products.

The consequences of these attacks are already being felt in global markets, with wheat prices rising about 3% and corn prices up nearly 2% on Wednesday. Ukraine is a major supplier of wheat, corn, vegetable oil, and other agricultural products that are important in regions facing high food prices and hunger, such as the Middle East, Africa, and parts of Asia. The disruption to Ukraine’s exports could further exacerbate food shortages in these areas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a response from the international community, emphasizing the need to protect global food security and condemn the attacks on Ukrainian ports and agricultural infrastructure.

While Ukraine can still export its goods through road and rail routes in Europe, the attacks on its ports highlight the vulnerability of its agricultural supply chain, which heavily relies on efficient access to international markets. The situation remains volatile, and the international community will be closely watching the developments in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.