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Russian strikes on Ukrainian port areas continued Thursday, local authorities said, after Moscow warned ships heading there Ports of Ukraine on the Black Sea They can be considered military targets.
As concerns grow about Russia pulling out of a deal that protects global shipments of Ukrainian grain, authorities in Mykolaiv and Odessa regions reported about 20 people were injured in the strikes.
With Russia’s exit from the year-old country threatening to worsen global food supplies, Ukraine said on Wednesday it was creating a temporary shipping route through Romania, the neighboring Black Sea country.
“Its goal is to facilitate the liberalization of international shipping in the northwestern part of the Black Sea,” Vasyl Shkurakov, Ukraine’s acting minister for communities and territories and infrastructure development, said in a letter to the UN’s International Shipping Organization.
Ukraine and Russia are among the world’s largest grain exporters. US wheat futures jumped 8.5% on Wednesday, their biggest daily gain in days after Russia invaded its neighbor on February 24, 2022.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that countries flying the flag of ships heading to Ukrainian ports would be considered parties to the conflict by Ukraine.
Zelensky condemns “Russian terrorism”
After the last ship left Ukraine on Sunday under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia attacked the Odessa region on Monday and Tuesday night. The three ports in the region were the only ones operating in Ukraine under the grain deal.
Ukrainian officials said that grain terminals, an industrial facility, warehouses, shopping centers, residential and administrative buildings, and cars were damaged on Tuesday night.
Ukraine’s Southern Military Command said Russia had used hypersonic missiles, including the Kh-22 designed to overwhelm aircraft carriers, to hit the port infrastructure of Odessa.
“In the ports that were attacked, about 1 million tons of food were stored,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Wednesday. “It is precisely this amount that should have already been delivered to the consuming countries in Africa and Asia.
“At the station, which was damaged the most by Russian terrorism tonight, 60,000 tons of agricultural products intended for shipment to China were stored,” Zelensky said.
At least 18 people were wounded in the attack on the port city of Mykolaiv, the region’s governor said early Thursday, while an Odessa official said two people were taken to hospital after an attack caused a fire.
Reuters could not independently verify the Ukrainian allegations.
White House National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge said U.S. officials have information indicating that Russia has laid additional naval mines at the entrances to Ukrainian ports in what appears to be a “concerted effort to justify any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea and to blame Ukraine for these attacks.” .
Russia did not immediately comment on the US assertion.
put it in demands demands
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Western countries of “spoiling” the grain deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.
The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday that Russia’s exit from the agreement risks exacerbating global food insecurity and could lead to an increase in food prices, especially in poor countries.
Putin said Russia would immediately return to the agreement if Moscow’s conditions were met, easing restrictions on its exports of food and fertilizer. Western countries describe it as an attempt to take advantage of the food supply to weaken the financial sanctions, which still allow Russia to sell food.
Beyond the ports, fighting continued on Wednesday in eastern and southern Ukraine as Kiev’s counter-offensive attempts to recapture territory captured by Russian forces. The Russians dug in on a heavily fortified front.
In Washington, the Pentagon announced additional security assistance to Ukraine, totaling nearly $1.3 billion. The package includes air defense capabilities and munitions.
European Union foreign ministers are expected to discuss in Brussels a proposal on Thursday to spend up to 20 billion euros ($22 billion) on weapons, ammunition and other military aid for Ukraine over four years.
As concerns grow about Russia pulling out of a deal that protects global shipments of Ukrainian grain, authorities in Mykolaiv and Odessa regions reported about 20 people were injured in the strikes.
With Russia’s exit from the year-old country threatening to worsen global food supplies, Ukraine said on Wednesday it was creating a temporary shipping route through Romania, the neighboring Black Sea country.
“Its goal is to facilitate the liberalization of international shipping in the northwestern part of the Black Sea,” Vasyl Shkurakov, Ukraine’s acting minister for communities and territories and infrastructure development, said in a letter to the UN’s International Shipping Organization.
Ukraine and Russia are among the world’s largest grain exporters. US wheat futures jumped 8.5% on Wednesday, their biggest daily gain in days after Russia invaded its neighbor on February 24, 2022.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that countries flying the flag of ships heading to Ukrainian ports would be considered parties to the conflict by Ukraine.
Zelensky condemns “Russian terrorism”
After the last ship left Ukraine on Sunday under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia attacked the Odessa region on Monday and Tuesday night. The three ports in the region were the only ones operating in Ukraine under the grain deal.
Ukrainian officials said that grain terminals, an industrial facility, warehouses, shopping centers, residential and administrative buildings, and cars were damaged on Tuesday night.
Ukraine’s Southern Military Command said Russia had used hypersonic missiles, including the Kh-22 designed to overwhelm aircraft carriers, to hit the port infrastructure of Odessa.
“In the ports that were attacked, about 1 million tons of food were stored,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Wednesday. “It is precisely this amount that should have already been delivered to the consuming countries in Africa and Asia.
“At the station, which was damaged the most by Russian terrorism tonight, 60,000 tons of agricultural products intended for shipment to China were stored,” Zelensky said.
At least 18 people were wounded in the attack on the port city of Mykolaiv, the region’s governor said early Thursday, while an Odessa official said two people were taken to hospital after an attack caused a fire.
Reuters could not independently verify the Ukrainian allegations.
White House National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge said U.S. officials have information indicating that Russia has laid additional naval mines at the entrances to Ukrainian ports in what appears to be a “concerted effort to justify any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea and to blame Ukraine for these attacks.” .
Russia did not immediately comment on the US assertion.
put it in demands demands
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Western countries of “spoiling” the grain deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.
The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday that Russia’s exit from the agreement risks exacerbating global food insecurity and could lead to an increase in food prices, especially in poor countries.
Putin said Russia would immediately return to the agreement if Moscow’s conditions were met, easing restrictions on its exports of food and fertilizer. Western countries describe it as an attempt to take advantage of the food supply to weaken the financial sanctions, which still allow Russia to sell food.
Beyond the ports, fighting continued on Wednesday in eastern and southern Ukraine as Kiev’s counter-offensive attempts to recapture territory captured by Russian forces. The Russians dug in on a heavily fortified front.
In Washington, the Pentagon announced additional security assistance to Ukraine, totaling nearly $1.3 billion. The package includes air defense capabilities and munitions.
European Union foreign ministers are expected to discuss in Brussels a proposal on Thursday to spend up to 20 billion euros ($22 billion) on weapons, ammunition and other military aid for Ukraine over four years.
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