After shelling the port: Russia admits attack on Odessa

The Kremlin has admitted the rocket attack on the port city of Odessa. Accordingly, a Ukrainian warship is said to have been hit. The government in Kyiv sees the contract on the resumption of grain deliveries at risk.

Russia says it destroyed “military infrastructure” in the rocket attack on the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. “High-precision” Kalibr cruise missiles were used, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said on Telegram. This hit a Ukrainian warship.

The port on the Black Sea, which is important for Ukrainian grain deliveries, was shelled yesterday. According to Ukrainian information, two Russian missiles were intercepted by the air defenses and two more are said to have hit the port. The port infrastructure was damaged.

It is still unclear what the consequences of the attack will be for the grain agreement. The government in Kyiv sees the contract on the resumption of grain deliveries at risk. Grain exports are intended to curb the global rise in food prices.

Selenskyj speaks of “Russian barbarism”

According to Turkey, Russia initially denied its involvement in the airstrikes. “The Russians have told us that they have nothing to do with this attack and that they are investigating the matter very closely,” said Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. Zakharova has now responded to statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The latter had stated that the attacks had destroyed the possibility of dialogue or understanding with Moscow.

Selenskyj had described the shelling of the port as an act of “obvious Russian barbarism”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also reacted sharply. There are “serious doubts” about Moscow’s credibility. Just a day after agreeing to export Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea, Russia broke its commitments, Blinken said.

Blinken said the shelling was undermining the work of the United Nations, Turkey and Ukraine to get essential food products to world markets. Russia bears responsibility for worsening the global food crisis. Moscow has approved the grain export agreement and now has the duty to fully implement it.

Grain deal signed on Friday

On Friday, Russia had pledged in an agreement that ships for export would be allowed to use a sea corridor and not fired at them. The three ports involved must therefore not be attacked. Among other things, it is about the export of millions of tons of grain. The agreement provides for exports to be monitored by a control center in Istanbul.

The UN and the European Union condemned the shelling. UN Secretary-General Guterres, who attended the signing on Friday, stressed that all parties have made a clear commitment to ensure the safe export of Ukrainian grain. “Full implementation by the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Turkey is imperative,” he said. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote on Twitter that the shelling of the port shows “again Russia’s total disregard for international law and obligations.”