Russian attacks continue on Ukraine ports after Moscow warns ships

Jul 20 (Reuters) – Russian attacks on Ukrainian port areas continued on Thursday, local authorities said, after Moscow warned that ships bound for Ukrainian Black Sea ports could be considered military targets.

As concerns grew over Russia pulling out of a deal that has protected global shipments of Ukrainian grain, authorities in the Mykolaiv and Odessa regions reported that some 20 people were injured in the attack. strikes.

With Russia’s departure from the previous year threatening to worsen global food supplies, Ukraine said on Wednesday it was setting up a temporary shipping route through Romania, a neighboring Black Sea country.

“Their goal is to facilitate the unblocking of international shipping in the northwestern part of the Black Sea,” Vasyl Shkurakov, Ukraine’s acting minister for communities, territories and infrastructure development, said in a letter to the UN International Shipping Organization.

Ukraine and Russia are among the world’s leading grain exporters. US wheat futures rose 8.5% on Wednesday, their biggest daily gain since days after Russia’s invasion of its neighbor on February 24, 2022.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the flag states of ships traveling to Ukrainian ports would be considered. parties to the conflict on the side of Ukraine.

ZELENSKIY DENOUNCES ‘RUSSIAN TERROR’

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 region’s three ports had been the only ones operating in Ukraine under the grain deal.

Grain terminals and an industrial facility, warehouses, shopping malls, residential and administrative buildings, and cars were damaged Tuesday night, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukraine’s southern military command said Russia had used supersonic missiles, including the Kh-22 that was designed to shoot down aircraft carriers, to attack Odessa port infrastructure.

“In the ports that were attacked there were about a million tons of food stored,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his late-night speech on Wednesday. “It is precisely that amount that should have already been delivered to the consuming countries of Africa and Asia.

“In the terminal most damaged by Russian terror tonight, 60,000 tons of agricultural products destined to be shipped to China were stored,” Zelenskiy said.

On Thursday morning, at least 18 people were injured in the strike in the port city of Mykolaiv, the regional governor said, while an Odessa official said two people had been hospitalized after a strike sparked a fire.

Reuters was unable to independently verify Ukraine’s claims.

American officials have information indicating that Russia put more sea ​​mines on approaches to Ukrainian ports in what appeared to be “a coordinated effort to justify any attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea and blame Ukraine for these attacks,” White House National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge said.

Russia did not immediately comment on the US claim.

PUTIN PRESSES DEMANDS

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Western countries of “pervert” the grain agreement, negotiated by the United Nations and Türkiye.

The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday that Russia’s exit from the agreement threat worsen global food insecurity and could increase food prices, especially in poor countries.

Putin said Russia would immediately return to the pact if Moscow’s conditions were met, easing restrictions on its food and fertilizer exports. Western countries call this an attempt to seize food supplies to weaken financial sanctions, which still allow Russia to sell food.

Far from the ports, fighting continued on Wednesday in eastern and southern Ukraine, where kyiv’s counteroffensive is trying to recapture territory held by Russian forces. The Russians have dug in on a heavily fortified front line.

In Washington, the Pentagon announced additional security attendance for Ukraine, totaling around $1.3 billion, with the package including air defense capabilities and munitions.

In Brussels, European Union foreign ministers are expected to discuss on Thursday a proposal to spend up to 20 billion euros ($22 billion) on arms, ammunition and other items. military aid for Ukraine for four years.

Reuters bureau reports; Written by Grant McCool and William Mallard; Edited by Stephen Coates

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