According to local authorities, two Russian missiles were intercepted by Ukrainian anti-aircraft forces and two others hit port facilities.
António Guterres (UN) and Josep Borrell (EU) have “unequivocally” condemned the attack.
The Government of Ukraine has informed this Saturday of a missile attack perpetrated in the last few hours by Russian troops on the port of Odessa. In an official statement released on social networks, the kyiv executive has indicated that two Kalibr cruise missiles they were shot down by the Ukrainian air defense forces. “Other two impacted the port infrastructure”confirmed Sergii Brachuk, a spokesman for the Odessa region.
This military aggression comes a day after Moscow and kyiv sealed an agreement to resume Ukrainian grain exports blocked by the war. The agreement, reached with the intermediation of United Nations and the Government of Turkeypointed to the port of Odessa as one of the export points for these raw materials.
spit in the face
In this sense, the Government of Zelensky has accused Russia of “spit in the face” to the UN and Turkey for the military aggression against the Ukrainian pier in the Black Sea. “This is an attack by Vladimir Putin on the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterresand the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan“, affirms the statement issued by the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oleg Nikolenkoin which he points out that Russia will have to assume “all responsibility” if the export agreement is broken.
For his part, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has condemned “unequivocally” the attack, as confirmed by his spokesman, Farhan Haq, in a statement, in which he added: “The full implementation (of the agreement) by the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Turkey is imperative.”
Europe has reacted in similar terms. “The EU strongly condemns the Russian missile attack on the Odessa seaport. Reaching a crucial goal for grain exports after the signing of the Istanbul agreements is particularly reprehensible,” he wrote on his Twitter profile this Saturday. Joseph Borrell. The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs added that the attack also “once again demonstrates the Russia’s total disregard for the law and international commitments.
Maritime Corridor
Despite the attack, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister, Oleksandr Kubrakov, has confirmed that his country continues to prepare for grain exports from its ports.
The agreement sponsored by Ankara and the United Nations contemplated a maritime corridor to alleviate the food crisis caused by the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea. Specifically, it will allow cargo ships to export from three Ukrainian ports – those of Odessa, Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk – around 22 million tons of wheat, corn and other grains stored in silos.
The agreement, signed in Turkey by the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, and the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Oleksandr Kubrakov, in the presence of Guterres, it committed both parties to suspend any attack against the ships or ports that participate in these exports.
African countries
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Indeed, the president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosaand the Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, They had celebrated in the last few hours the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports. “Our continued reliance on massive amounts of grain from that part of the world must be seen as a real risk and danger to the 1.3 billion inhabitants of African countries. Therefore, we must use this conflict as a wake-up call,” Ramaphosa said at a press conference in Pretoria, collected by the BBC.
The South African president had pointed out that the blockade of cereals in Ukrainian ports had forced African countries to rethink food supply due to the high dependence on imports. For his part, Ouattara declared himself pleased to see that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to sign the aforementioned agreement. “I also indicated to President Zelensky that he wanted the supply to become a priority for the African continentdue to the fragility of their economies and the social situation in many countries,” added the Ivorian president.