Ukrainian military says two Russian cruise missiles hit ports, two shot down
A series of statements criticizing the international community, including the United Nations… Implementation of the agreement remains unclear for the time being
On the 23rd (local time), the day after a four-way deal between Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkiye (Turkey) to export Ukrainian grain to the Black Sea was reached, a missile attack by the Russian army on the infrastructure of one of the export ports occurred on the 23rd (local time). was carried out
The agreement to solve the global food crisis by opening sea roads blocked in the war is expected to be unclear as to whether the agreement will be implemented due to a missile strike that occurred even before practical preparations began.
Ukraine’s Southern Operations Command said on a telegram on the same day that “two Russian Kalibr cruise missiles hit the infrastructure of the Ukrainian port of Odessa, and two others were shot down by air defenses.”
No casualties or specific damage to the port were disclosed.
Olesi Honcharenko, a member of the Odessa district council, also reported on her telegram that there had been six explosions around the port of Odessa and the port was on fire.
In addition, the Ukrainian air defense unit shot down some incoming missiles and informed residents that fighters were in an air battle and needed to evacuate.
The day before, Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey signed a deal to export grain through the Black Sea.
The purpose is to provide a safe route to the Black Sea, where mines were laid, and to open the way for Ukrainian grain and Russia’s grain and fertilizer exports.
The blockade of the Black Sea port by the Russian military has blocked grain export routes from Ukraine, a major food exporting country, and raised concerns about the world’s food supply and demand.
Ukrainian wheat tied up around the Black Sea amounts to between 20 and 25 million tonnes.
The day after negotiations to overcome this reached a dramatic agreement, there are concerns that the grain export agreement itself may be canceled as a missile bombards the infrastructure of Odessa, which was one of the grain export ports to create a safe route.
There are speculations that it is unclear whether the work of establishing a joint coordination center between the four parties, which was set to begin on the same day, will proceed properly.
The plan was to establish a joint control center to manage and supervise overall import and export operations, including checking whether the ships are loaded with weapons, to quickly close the export of grain, but it was met with bad news before the actual work began.
“It took less than 24 hours for Russia to attack the port after the agreement was reached,” said Oleg Nicholenko, spokesman for Ukraine’s foreign ministry.
“President Putin spit on a lot of efforts to reach an agreement,” he said.
The United Nations, which had participated in the agreement, also joined in the criticism.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement on the same day that “the full fulfillment of the promises made by Russia, Ukraine and Turkey are essential to alleviating the suffering of millions of people around the world who are suffering from food shortages.” “he said.
U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, called it a “shocking attack.”
/yunhap news