Russian missiles hit Ukraine's southern port of Odesa on Saturday, the Ukrainian military said, threatening a deal signed just a day earlier to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the strike blatant "barbarism" showing Moscow could not be trusted to implement the deal. However, public broadcaster Suspilne quoted the Ukrainian military as saying the missiles had not caused significant damage and a government minister said preparations continued to restart grain exports from Black Sea ports.
The deal signed on Friday by Moscow and Kyiv and mediated by the United Nations and Turkey was hailed as a breakthrough after nearly five months of punishing fighting since Russia invaded its neighbor. It is seen as crucial to curbing soaring global food prices by allowing grain exports to be shipped from Black Sea ports including Odesa.
Two Russian Kalibr missiles hit the area of a pumping station at the port; two others were shot down by air defense forces, according to Ukraine's military. Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ignat said the missiles were fired from warships in the Black Sea near Crimea.
Suspilne quoted Ukraine's southern military command as saying the port's grain storage area was not hit.
"Unfortunately there are wounded. The port's infrastructure was damaged," said Odesa region governor Maksym Marchenko.
But Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook that "we continue technical preparations for the launch of exports of agricultural products from our ports."
The strike appeared to violate Friday's deal, which would allow safe passage in and out of Ukrainian ports.
"If anyone in the world could have said before this that some kind of dialogue with Russia, some kind of agreements, would be necessary, look at what is happening," Zelenskyy said in a late-night video.
He vowed to do everything possible to acquire air defense systems able to shoot down missiles like those that hit Odesa.
A Russian Defense Ministry statement on Saturday outlining progress in the war did not mention any strike in Odesa. However, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reposted the UN condemnation and said, "It is awful that UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres does not 'unequivocally' condemn also the Kyiv regime's killing of children in Donbas."
The strikes on Odesa drew strong condemnation from the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, Britain, Germany and Italy. On Friday, UN officials said they hoped the agreement would be operational in a few weeks.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that "this attack casts serious doubt on the credibility of Russia's commitment to yesterday's deal. Russia bears responsibility for deepening the global food crisis and must stop its aggression."
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "unequivocally condemned" the strikes, a spokesperson said, adding full implementation of the deal was imperative.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusai Akar said, "The Russians told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with this attack ... The fact that such an incident took place right after the agreement we made yesterday really worried us."
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock slammed the "cowardly missile attacks on the port of Odesa show that the Russian leadership's signature counts for little at the moment."
US Ambassador To Kyiv Bridget Brink called the strike "Outrageous. Russia strikes the port city of Odesa less than 24 hours after signing an agreement to allow shipments of agricultural exports. The Kremlin continues to weaponize food. Russia must be held to account."
EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said, "Striking a target crucial for grain export a day after the signature of Istanbul agreements is particularly reprehensible and again demonstrates Russia's total disregard for international law and commitments."
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said, "It is absolutely appalling that only a day after striking this deal, [Russian President] Vladimir Putin has launched a completely unwarranted attack on Odesa.
"It shows that not a word he says can be trusted and we need to urgently work with our international partners to find a better way of getting the grain out of Ukraine that doesn't involve Russia and their broken promises."
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
