Missiles on Odessa – With attack on UN harbor “spit in the face”

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Just one day after an agreement was reached to resume blocked grain deliveries, the Ukrainian port of Odessa, which is important for exports, was hit by Russian missiles, according to Ukrainian sources. The attack took place “where the grain was stored,” Ukraine’s “Pravda” quoted Ukraine’s Air Force Command spokesman Yuri Ignat as saying. According to Turkish information, Russia rejected the authorship and international criticism of the attack is strong.

“That’s what these deals with a terrorist country are worth,” Ignat said. According to Ukrainian television, there was relatively little material damage. A pumping station was hit and a small fire damaged several buildings, but not the grain stores, it said.

Serhiy Brachuk of the Odessa region said two Kalibr cruise missiles hit the port infrastructure and another two were shot down by anti-aircraft fire. Russian President Vladimir Putin spat in the face of the UN and Turkey, referring to the mediators of the grain deal.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who attended the signing of the agreement in Istanbul on Friday, also condemned the shelling. On Friday, all parties at the global level made a clear commitment to ensure the safe export of Ukrainian grain. “Full implementation by the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Turkey is absolutely necessary,” the Portuguese stressed.

“Extremely objectionable”
EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell tweeted: “Meeting an important grain export target a day after the signing of the Istanbul Accords is deeply reprehensible and demonstrates once again Russia’s utter disregard for international law and international law. obligations.”

Baerbock: Russian signature “currently counts for little”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock spoke of “cowardly rocket attacks”. This would show that “the signature of the Russian leadership is currently of little value,” Baerbock told Reuters news agency on Saturday. The millions of people around the world who are hitting Russia hard with its “grain war” hope that Russia will keep its promises and allow grain to be transported across the Black Sea. “But the attack also shows us that we must continue to work fully on alternatives,” she added, referring to, for example, the export of Ukrainian grain through ports in Romania.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy doubted the meaning of the grain deal with Russia. “This only proves one thing: whatever Russia says or promises, it will find ways not to carry it out,” he said in a video shared on Telegram. Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov announced via Facebook that Ukraine was continuing preparations to resume grain exports from its ports.

‘Russians say they have nothing to do with this attack’
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar called the attack “deeply regrettable” and called on all parties involved to continue their cooperation as agreed in the agreement. “The Russians have informed us that they have absolutely nothing to do with this attack and that they are investigating this matter very closely and in detail,” Akar said.

Actually promised not to attack ships on the routes
The agreement, signed by ministers of both warring sides, aims to create safe transit routes in the Black Sea for grain deliveries. The rules, reached in weeks of negotiations, provide corridors for grain exports from three Ukrainian ports in the Odessa region. The belligerents agreed not to attack ships on these routes. Russian state news agency Tass reported Friday that three Ukrainian ports – including Odessa – would be reopened.

Among other things, the regulations should allow for the export of an estimated 20 to 25 million tons of wheat trapped in Ukrainian silos as a result of the war. Russia and Ukraine are among the largest grain producers in the world. Before the Russian invasion began, together they supplied about 30 percent of the world’s traded wheat.

Source: Krone

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