The day after Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement on the export of grain, Russian rockets are said to have been fired at the important port city of Odesa. – A spit in the face from Vladimir Putin, says a Ukrainian spokesperson.
Updated just now
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Russian rockets hit a port in Odesa on Saturday, which is important for the export of grain, according to the Ukrainian authorities.
The messages about the attack come the day after Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement on the export of grain on Friday.
The agreement involves, among other things, the resumption of grain exports from three Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, so that 22 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain can be sent out into the world.
Odesa is one of the three ports that were included in the grain agreement.
Russian authorities have not yet commented on the alleged attack.
150 meters from granary
Adviser in the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior, Anton Herashenko, claims on Telegram that the Russian attack has caused 10 explosions in Odesa, and that the attacks on the port had caused a fire.
– Four rockets were shot down by our air defense forces, and two fell in the harbor area, writes Herasjenko.
One of the rockets is said to have fallen only 150 meters from the largest grain warehouse of the company “Brooklyn – Kyiv”.
The owner of the maritime agency TIS, which manages the terminals in Odesa, has confirmed to Ukrainian authorities that rockets have fallen in the area. So does a spokesperson from the military administration in Odesa, according to NTB.
– A spit from Putin
The Ukrainian adviser reaches out to Russia, writing that the West, China and other countries that cooperate with Russia must see that “Putin cannot be trusted for a single gram”.
– In light of the Istanbul Treaty, a legitimate question arises – who and how will the safety of grain ships be ensured in the port of Odesa, if Russia continues to fire?
Both Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General António Guterres were present when the agreement was signed in Istanbul. Guterres called the agreement “a beacon of hope”.
A spokesperson for the United Nations says that Guterres strongly condemns the reported attack, reports Reuters on Saturday afternoon.
Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, accused Moscow of “undermining its commitments” to the grain deal.
– It took less than 24 hours before Russia launched a missile attack on Odesa’s port, and broke its promises, he writes on Twitter.
– The Russian attack is a spit in the face of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Erdogan from Vladimir Putin, says Nikolenko, according to BBC.
Furthermore, he writes that if the agreement is not fulfilled, Russia will “bear full responsibility for the global food crisis”.
The war in Ukraine has been called a war in the world’s dinner plate. The country exports around ten percent of the world’s wheat, and fifty percent of the world’s sunflower oil.
The grain deal between the warring countries was signed in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday, and was seen as critical to bolstering global supplies.
“These products are desperately needed to address the global food crisis and ease the suffering of millions of people in need around the world,” UN spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement.
The Ukrainian infrastructure minister says they will continue to prepare grain exports from the ports, despite the Russian missile attack, Reuters reports.
– Hair raising
Chief of Staff for President Zelenskyi’s administration, Andrej Yermak, rages against the attack on Twitter.
– The Russians are systematically creating a food crisis and are doing everything to make people suffer. The terror of famine continues. The world must act.
The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, has condemned the attack.
– Hair raising. The Kremlin continues to use food as a weapon. Russia must be held accountable, she signs Twitter.
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