The United Nations was alarmed on Friday by the risks of a military incident causing an escalation of the conflict, after Russia announced that it had carried out maneuvers involving the firing of missiles in the Black Sea, the scene of growing tensions with Ukraine and its allies since the expiration of a crucial grain agreement for world food.
The fighting also continues to cause civilian casualties. Two children in the village of Druzhba, a couple in the town of Kostiantynivka, and further north in the Cherniguiv region a woman and an employee of a cultural center perished under Russian bombs, according to local authorities.
It was before the Security Council that an official of the organization expressed alarm at the possible consequences of the latest developments. “Threats to target civilian ships in the Black Sea are unacceptable,” said UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo.
“The risk of the conflict spreading in response to a military incident in the Black Sea — intentional or accidental — must be avoided at all costs,” she added.
The Russian military had previously announced that its ships had fired anti-ship cruise missiles and destroyed “a target boat in the combat training area in the northwestern part of the Black Sea” off the coast of Ukraine.
Russia said on Wednesday that it would consider ships bound for Ukraine in the Black Sea as potentially carrying military cargo, and the countries whose flag they fly as parties to the conflict.
Tensions have reignited in this area since Moscow’s rejection this week of the Ukrainian grain export deal, which allowed cargo ships loaded with agricultural products to leave Ukrainian ports through protected sea lanes.
At the same time, Russian strikes have hit the Odessa region, a strategic port for Ukraine in the Black Sea, in recent nights.
kyiv accuses Moscow of specifically targeting these infrastructures to prevent any resumption of grain exports.
During the night from Thursday to Friday, Russian Kalibr cruise missiles, fired from the Black Sea, hit the region for the fourth consecutive night, local governor Oleg Kiper said.
“Grain silos of an agricultural company in the region were hit. The enemy destroyed 100 tons of peas and 20 tons of barley,” he wrote on Telegram, adding that two people were injured.
Drones and missiles had already hit Odessa and Mykolaiv, another major city in southern Ukraine, killing at least three people and injuring around 20 overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
The Russian army has assured to target only military sites.
Ukraine warned on Thursday that it would in turn symmetrically treat boats heading to ports controlled by Moscow as carrying military equipment, “with all the associated risks”.
The UN, which mediated in the negotiation of the grain agreement, expressed concern about the consequences for world food.
“We are already seeing the negative effect on world wheat and maize prices, which is hurting everyone, especially vulnerable populations in the Global South,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary general.
“We understand the concerns that our African friends may feel, it’s understandable and it will be taken into account,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Verchinin.
Denouncing trade barriers for its own fertilizers and agricultural products, Russia claims to be ready to return to the agreement signed in July 2022 if its demands are met “in full”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintained his hope of renewing the agreement “by speaking in detail with Mr. Putin”.
On the battlefield, two children, a brother and sister, were killed by Russian shell fire in the village of Druzhba (Friendship) in eastern Ukraine, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko announced.
“Around 3:00 p.m. the Russians shelled the village with artillery. One of the shells hit the yard where the children were,” Pavlo Kyrylenko said on his Telegram account. The boy was 10 and his sister was 16, he said.
Earlier on Friday, the governor announced the death of a couple killed by Grad rocket fire in Kostiantynivka.
In the north, the governor of the Cherniguiv region, Vyacheslav Tchaous, announced the death of an employee of a cultural center in a Russian strike. He later added that a woman’s body was also found under the rubble.
But Vladimir Poutin affirmed, in remarks broadcast on television, that the Russian forces fought in a “professional” and “heroic” way. He assured that the Ukrainian troops were suffering “enormous losses” and that their counter-offensive was yielding “no results”.
Near Bakhmout, however, in the east where the Ukrainian army is progressing around this city destroyed by Russian bombing, the Ukrainian soldiers expressed their determination, whatever the evolution of Western support.
“If they stop giving us weapons, missiles, I think we will continue to fight until the end,” said Volodymyr, 33, as he cleaned his rifle.
The support, for now, is there. Ukrainian forces are “effectively using” US-supplied cluster munitions, which are “really impacting Russian defensive formations,” White House spokesman John Kirby said.
21/07/2023 19:08:53 – Moscow (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
