Ukraine accuses Russia of bombing the port of Odessa hours after signing a grain export deal in Istanbul; fighting continues on multiple fronts as Ukrainian and Russian troops hit each other, and Kyiv announces it has received additional U.S. military support .
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said the Russian bombing of the (southern) port of Odessa had dealt a blow to Istanbul’s agreement on Ukrainian grain exports. Zelensky added in a meeting with U.S. lawmakers in Kyiv on Saturday that Russia carried out the missile attack on the port of Odessa less than 24 hours after it signed an agreement overseen by the United Nations and Turkey to export grain from Ukrainian ports.
The attacks also targeted grain stations, he added, and suggested that Moscow would find a way not to implement the agreement signed in Istanbul on Friday.
The Ukrainian presidency has previously said that Russian President Vladimir Putin dealt a blow to the United Nations and Turkey by attacking the port of Odessa.
The Ukrainian presidency added that Russia’s attack on the port of Odessa after the signing of the grain export agreement was a diplomatic conflict.
The Ukrainian military announced that its air defenses had shot down multiple Russian missiles over Odessa, and said two missiles aimed at the port had hit a grain transport station, but stressed the damage was limited.
The governor of Odessa state confirmed that several people were injured in the explosion. Al Jazeera reporters observed two missiles off the coast of Odessa during Ukrainian air defenses’ response to the attack.
On the other hand, Yevgeny Popov, a member of the Russian State Duma, told Al Jazeera that Russia had bombed military sites near the port of Odessa without damaging grain ships or civilian sites, adding that Moscow did not prevent grain from leaving the port .
Despite the Russian bombing, the Ukrainian government has announced that it will continue to prepare to resume grain exports through three ports on the Black Sea, including the port of Odessa.
Under Turkish mediation and under the auspices of the United Nations, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to ensure the removal of millions of tons of grain from Ukrainian ports.
The agreement, which is valid for 120 days and can be extended, allows the export of 20 million to 25 million tonnes of stranded grain from Ukraine.
international condemnation
The United States condemned the “Russian missile attack” on the Ukrainian port of Odessa, saying they had “serious doubts” about Russia’s commitment to lift an embargo on grain exports within the framework of the agreement signed in Istanbul on Friday.
“This attack seriously calls into question the credibility of Russia’s commitment to Friday’s agreement and undermines the work being done by the United Nations, Turkey and Ukraine to get essential food to global markets,” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement. .” He called on Russia to stop what he said was aggression against Ukraine.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned the missile attack on the Ukrainian port of Odessa.
UN Secretary-General Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Friday that all parties have made a clear commitment to ensure the safe delivery of Ukrainian grain and related products to world markets, and it is imperative that Russia, Ukraine and Turkey will fully implement their commitments.
European Union foreign policy commissioner Josep Borrell said he strongly condemned the Russian missile attack on the port of Odessa.
Borrell said the bombing of the port the day after the Istanbul agreement was signed was reprehensible, a move that once again showed Russia’s complete disregard for international law and international obligations.
Britain also condemned what it described as a horrific and unprovoked attack on the Ukrainian port of Odessa.
Bridget Brinker, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, has called for Moscow to be held accountable for what she said was a brazen attack on the city of Odessa.
Against this backdrop, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said that Russia’s missile attack on the port of Odessa was a serious concern, and she called on Russia to fully respect the text and spirit of the Istanbul Agreement.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the UN secretary general’s condemnation of the attack on the port of Odessa, saying that he unreservedly condemned the attack on the port of Odessa, but not the Ukrainian regime’s targeting of Donba s children.
In Ankara, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said he had been in contact with Russian officials who denied any connection to the Odessa port attack.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country will make an important contribution to overcoming the global food crisis through ship shipments starting in Ukrainian ports in the coming days.
In his speech during a meeting with workers of an industrial company in Kayseri (central Turkey), Erdogan stressed Ankara’s determination to continue its diplomatic efforts until peace is achieved between Russia and Ukraine.
extra aid
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s presidential palace confirmed that the country received additional aid worth $270 million from the United States, including four High Mobility Multiple Rocket Launcher Systems (HIMARS), anti-tank weapons and 580 drones.
The Ukrainian presidency stressed that the Ukrainians would need at least 50 effective missile systems, such as HIMARS, and hundreds of howitzers.
Kyiv recently talked about the success of its forces in precision strikes against Russian forces using advanced Western weapons systems, particularly the HIMARS system.
Live development
In a field development, the Ukrainian army announced that its forces had bombed a bridge over the “Ingulets” river in the village of Darifka in the southern Kherson region of the country with seven missiles controlled by Russian troops.
The Ukrainian military said that the bridge, an important supply line for the Russian army, was damaged by the bombing and could not be used.
It is worth noting that this bridge is the second bridge announced to be bombed by the Ukrainian army in a few days, after the Kherson Antonovsky Bridge.
The Ukrainian army also confirmed that 93 Russian soldiers were killed in Kherson and that the “Grad” missile system, self-propelled artillery and ammunition depots were damaged.
On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the targeting of their positions in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (central Ukraine), the elimination of approximately 200 soldiers of the Ukrainian army and the destruction of 12 control points and 4 weapons of the Ukrainian army library.
The ministry also spoke of the elimination of some 60 members of the so-called Ukrainian nationalist “Donbas” group in Donetsk in the Donbas region (east).
Al Jazeera reporters reported on the intensification of confrontation between Ukrainian and Russian troops on the outskirts of Nikolaev Oblast (southern), especially on the Snigilevka and Bastanka fronts.
Ukraine’s military said Ukrainian planes had bombed a Russian military base in the state’s countryside.
In Donbass, Al Jazeera reporters said the Russian bombings targeted cities such as Slavyansk, Kramatorsk and Konstantinovka, noting that the bombings had disrupted internet service in areas controlled by the Ukrainian army.
Also in Donbass, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address Saturday that Ukrainian troops were entering the eastern region of Kherson that Russia had controlled at the start of the war.
“The occupiers are trying to establish a foothold there, but how are they doing it? The Ukrainian armed forces are taking step-by-step actions in the area,” he added.
Two Americans die in Donbass
Two U.S. citizens died recently in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, a State Department spokesman said Saturday, without giving further details.
The U.S. government is contacting their families and providing “all possible consular assistance,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman declined to specify when the two Americans died, or the exact circumstances of their deaths.
Despite warnings not to take up arms, many Americans volunteered to fight alongside Ukrainian troops. It comes after an American was killed in action in May after joining thousands of foreign fighters who volunteered to help Ukraine fend off Russian troops.