One day following agreement was reached on resuming blocked grain deliveries, the Ukrainian port of Odessa, which is important for exports, was hit by Russian missiles, according to Ukrainian sources. “The enemy attacked the port of Odessa with Kalibr cruise missiles. Two missiles hit the infrastructure of the port,” Serhiy Brachuk, a representative of the Odessa region, told online networks on Saturday.
Two more missiles were shot down by anti-aircraft defenses, Bratschuk added. In doing so, Russian President Vladimir Putin “spit in the face” of the UN and Turkey, according to the Ukrainian side. The UN and Turkey mediated between Kyiv and Moscow.
A day following deal
Both sides signed an agreement in Istanbul on Friday that provides for secured transit routes in the Black Sea for grain deliveries. The regulations reached in weeks of negotiations provide for corridors for grain exports from three Ukrainian ports in the Odessa area. The warring parties agreed not to attack ships on these routes.
Among other things, the regulations should allow the export of the estimated 20 to 25 million tons of wheat that are stuck in Ukrainian silos as a result of the war. Russia and Ukraine are among the world’s largest grain producers. Before the Russian invasion began, they together provided regarding 30 percent of the world’s traded wheat.
According to Ukrainian sources, at least three people were killed and nine others injured in a rocket attack in the Kirovohrad region. The Russian military fired a total of 13 rockets from warships and fighter bombers on Saturday morning, including at the Kanatovo military airport and a facility belonging to the Ukrainian railway company, the head of the military administration, Andriy Rajkovich, said on the Telegram news channel.
According to Rajkowitsch, a soldier and two workers at a transformer station were killed in the attacks. He called on people not to ignore the air alerts and seek shelter. So far, the area in the central part of Ukraine has been relatively unaffected by Russian attacks. However, the Russian Ministry of Defense had already reported shelling of the military airport in the past.
variety of explosions
The Ukrainian authorities also reported a large number of explosions from other parts of the country. The Mykolaiv region was attacked with six rockets, it said. Nine people were said to have been injured following Russian shelling in the Donetsk region. This information might not be verified by an independent party.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, Russian armored troops fired in the direction of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region. Overall, there was a lot of artillery fire in the military report, but all in all there was less Russian activity – in places enemy attacks had been repelled, it was said in Kyiv.
