Attacks by Russian drones caused major damage on Wednesday at dawn to Ukrainian port infrastructure on the Danube, facilities that have become crucial for grain exports.
The capital kyiv was also targeted by explosive devices, but the devices were all shot down, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Two small Ukrainian river ports bordering Romania, Reni and Izmail, in the Odessa region, have become the main exit route for Ukrainian agricultural products since Russia ended an agreement in mid-July that allowed Kiev to to export its cereals despite the war.
Since then, Moscow has multiplied the strikes against the Ukrainian port infrastructure, still affected early Wednesday morning.
Iranian-made “Shahed” explosive drones targeted the south of the Odessa region, the Ukrainian army said on Telegram, without specifying the location but explaining that “the obvious target of the enemy was the port infrastructure and industry in the region.
Later, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine said in a statement that “port facilities and industrial infrastructure on the Danube” were hit, damaging an elevator, grain sheds, administrative buildings and warehouses.
No casualties were reported despite the strikes which caused a fire, regional governor Oleg Kiper said on Telegram.
The Ukrainian authorities, who give very little information and access to these ports because of their strategic nature, have not clearly said which sites have been affected, but it is the Izmail prosecutor’s office which is responsible for the investigation, seeming to indicate that the destruction is in this district.
The port of Reni had also already been attacked on July 24 by Russia.
Russia’s “continued attacks against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure on the Danube, near Romania, are unacceptable”, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis reacted on Wednesday on Twitter, recently renamed “X”, denouncing “war crimes “.
His Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky called “the world must react”, denouncing “Russian terrorists (who) are again striking ports, cereals and global food security”.
Before attacking the Danube ports, Russian forces had repeatedly struck Ukrainian port infrastructure in the Black Sea in recent weeks, particularly in Odessa, from where Ukrainian cereals were previously exported.
These bombardments began after the end of an agreement which, under the aegis of the UN and Turkey, had allowed the export of 33 million tons of Ukrainian grain, despite the Russian invasion.
Another major explosive drone attack targeted kyiv overnight. According to the head of the capital’s military administration, Sergiï Popko, “Shahed” drones from several directions penetrated the sky of the city simultaneously but “all targets – more than ten drones – were detected and destroyed at time”.
Debris from drones, however, fell on the neighborhoods of Solomiansky, Golossiivsky and Svyatochynsky, without causing any deaths or injuries. “There is damage to non-residential premises and road surfaces, without destruction or serious fire,” the military administration added on Telegram.
An AFP journalist in Kyiv reported hearing at least three explosions around 3 a.m. local time (0000 GMT).
In the Golossiivsky district, the debris fell on a playground and a non-residential building, according to the military administration.
On Tuesday, Russia claimed to have foiled a wave of air and sea drone attacks on Moscow, the annexed Crimean peninsula and the Russian Black Sea fleet. A skyscraper in the financial district of the Russian capital was hit for the second time in a few days.
Attacks on Moscow and its surroundings have increased since the spring, with a drone incursion even targeting the Kremlin in May.
In response, the Russian Defense Minister announced on Monday that Moscow was stepping up its strikes in Ukraine.
02/08/2023 11:35:21 – Kiev (Ukraine) (AFP) © 2023 AFP
