Thirteen thousand tonnes of grain have been destroyed in a Russian drone attack on a port in Ukraine’s southern region of Odesa, officials say.
Key points:
- The grain was destined for Egypt and Romania
- Ukraine said Russia is systematically targeting grain silos
- At least two Ukrainian educational workers were killed in an attack on a school
The Danube River port of Izmail’s export capacity has been reduced by 15 per cent by the overnight strike, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on the Telegram messaging app.
“Several private grain terminals and warehouses were damaged, as well as cargo infrastructure,” he said.
“Russia is systematically hitting grain silos and warehouses to stop agricultural exports.”
Grain facilities in the Odesa region on the Black Sea also came under fire in the eighth wave of attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure since Russia quit a UN-brokered deal last month that had allowed Kyiv to ship its grain via the Black Sea.
The Danube River has become Ukraine’s main route for exporting grain since the collapse of the deal, which was meant to help tackle a global food crisis, and Izmail is Ukraine’s main inland port across the Danube from Romania.
Mr Kubrakov said the grain that was destroyed had been destined for Egypt and Romania, and that a total of 270,000 tonnes had now been destroyed in attacks since Russia quit the Black Sea grain deal.
The Ukrainian military published photographs showing piles of grain under the burnt and wrecked shell of a storage facility.
Odesa governor Oleh Kiper said the attack on the Odesa region lasted three hours and that the Ukrainian air force had destroyed nine Russian drones.
Ukrainian air defences later said they had shot down 11 out of 20 drones launched by Russia overnight.
Russia did not immediately comment on the attacks, but blames Ukraine and its Western allies for the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal.
Attack on Ukrainian school
At least four educational workers were killed and four other people were wounded in a Russian attack on a school in north-eastern Ukraine, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
He said the bodies of the school director, deputy director, secretary and a librarian had been pulled from the rubble by rescue workers.
He said four local residents were injured as they had been passing the school in the city of Romny, which is part of the Sumy region.
Photos shared by Klymenko on the Telegram messaging app showed emergency workers carrying away a body on a stretcher.
The regional military administration said a drone fired by Russia had hit the school at 10am.
“The school building was destroyed, and this is just before the school year, which unfortunately will never start for some,” Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Telegram.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Meanwhile Russia’s Defence Ministry said that it had destroyed a drone over Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine and regularly comes under fire from Kyiv’s forces.
Earlier the regional governor of Belgorod said three people had been killed there in a separate drone strike.
Reuters
Posted , updated
