kyiv. Russian troops yesterday attacked port infrastructure with drones in southern Ukraine, near the border with Romania, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the army and the prosecutor’s office of the invaded country reported separately.
Since Moscow ended an agreement in July that allowed Kiev to export grain despite the war, two small Ukrainian river ports on the Romanian border, Reni and Izmail, in the Odessa region, have become the main exit routes for Ukrainian agricultural products. Since then, Russia has multiplied attacks against port infrastructure.
the drones shahedmade in Iran, were aimed at the southern Odessa region, the Ukrainian army reported on Telegram, without specifying the location.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General explained that “port facilities and industrial infrastructure on the Danube” were affected, as an elevator, several silos, cargo terminal tanks, warehouses and administrative premises were damaged.
The attacks “damaged almost 40,000 tons of export grains,” according to Infrastructure Minister Alexandr Kubrakov. No casualties were reported, despite the fact that the bombardments caused a fire, detailed the region’s governor, Oleg Kiper, on Telegram.
The authorities, who give very little information and do not allow access to these ports because they are strategic, did not specify which places were affected. However, the Izmail prosecutor’s office is in charge of the investigation, which seems to indicate that the destruction took place in this district. The port of Reni was also attacked on July 24 by Russia.
In this context, Russian President Vladimir Putin asked for the support of his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to export his cereals and avoid de facto Western sanctions, while refusing to reactivate the agreement, sponsored by Turkey and the United Nations, reported the Kremlin, after a phone call between the two leaders.
“Taking into account the food needs of the countries most in need, options are being developed to enable deliveries of Russian grains. There is a desire to cooperate in this area with Turkey,” the Kremlin said.
Erdogan’s office indicated that the importance of avoiding steps that could jeopardize the resumption of the grain agreement, which it described as a “bridge of peace”, was emphasized.
Both leaders also agreed that Putin will visit Turkey, probably at the end of August.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis denounced on Twitter, now known as X, that “Russia’s continued attacks against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure on the Danube” near his country “are unacceptable.”
The Ukrainian president, Volodymir Zelensky, declared that “the world must react” and denounced “Russian terrorists” who attack “ports and world food security.”
France accused Russia of “on purpose” putting world food security at risk by “destroying essential infrastructure”.
kyiv was also the target of a drone strike. According to the head of the military administration of the capital, Sergiy Popko, several drones shahed they streaked across the sky over the city from various directions, but he clarified that they were all destroyed by air defense.
On the other hand, Russia reported that military exercises have begun in the Baltic Sea, in which some 30 warships are participating. During the exercises, the navy will practice how to protect sea lanes, transport troops and military cargo, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The Polish Ministry of National Defense is closely watching Russia’s naval exercises in the Baltic Sea.
“We are closely monitoring the situation in the Baltic,” the Polish armed forces said, referring to the Russian exercises.
