KYIV, July 23 (Reuters) – Russian missiles hit the main port of Odesa in southern Ukraine on Saturday, Ukraine’s military said, dealing a blow to a deal signed on Friday to unblock grain exports of the Black Sea ports.
The historic deal signed by Moscow and Kyiv on Friday is seen as crucial to curbing rising global food prices, easing a supply crisis by allowing certain exports to be shipped from Black Sea ports, including Odesa.
UN officials had said on Friday that they expected the deal to be operational within weeks, but it was not yet clear whether it would still be possible given Saturday’s strikes.
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“The enemy attacked the commercial sea port of Odesa with Kalibr cruise missiles,” Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Two missiles hit port infrastructure, while two others were shot down by air defense forces, he said. Read more
Ukraine’s foreign ministry called on the United Nations and Turkey, which brokered Friday’s deal, to ensure that Russia honors its commitments and allows free passage through the grain corridor. Read more
The US ambassador to Kyiv, Bridget Brink, called the strike “outrageous”. Read more
“The Kremlin continues to weaponize food. Russia must be held accountable,” Brink wrote on Twitter.
Russia’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
A blockade of Ukrainian ports by Russia’s Black Sea fleet since Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion of its neighbor has trapped tens of millions of tons of grain and grounded many ships. This has worsened global supply chain bottlenecks and, along with Western sanctions on Russia, fueled food and energy price inflation.
Russia and Ukraine are the world’s main suppliers of wheat, and the war sent food prices soaring. A global food crisis has pushed some 47 million people into “acute hunger,” according to the World Food Program.
Friday’s deal aims to prevent starvation in poorer nations by injecting more wheat, sunflower oil, fertilizer and other products into world markets, including for humanitarian needs, in part at lower prices.
UN officials said on Friday that the deal, which is expected to be fully operational within weeks, would restore grain shipments from the three reopened ports to pre-war levels of 5 million tonnes per month Read more
Under the deal, Ukrainian officials would guide the ships through safe channels through the mined waters to three ports, including Odesa, where they would be loaded with grain.
Moscow has denied responsibility for the crisis, blaming Western sanctions for slowing its own food and fertilizer exports and Ukraine for exploiting approaches to its Black Sea ports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that the deal would put about $10 billion worth of grain up for sale and roughly 20 million tons of last year’s crop would be exported.
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Reporting from the Reuters offices Writing by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen Editing by Frances Kerry
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