On Saturday, 23 July, Russian forces fired four missiles on Odessa. Two of them struck the commercial sea port, Ukrainian officials report.
Ukrainian Operational Command South reports Russian forces fired Kalibr missiles, two of which were shot down and two remaining ones hit port infrastructure.
Ukrainian parliament member Oleksiy Honcharenko reports six explosions were heard in the city.
He added that a fire broke out at the sea port. Images posted on social networks show a cloud of black smoke coming from the port.
The port of Odessa plays the central role in the Russian-Ukrainian agreement reached on Friday, 22 July, with mediation from Turkey and UN officials. This agreement provides for the recovery of exports of Ukrainian grain over the Black Sea.
With this missile attack by Russia, the agreement reached with Ukraine thanks to mediation from Turkey and the UN is put in question, said spokesman of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleh Nikolenko.
«It took the Russian Federation less than 24 hours to cast doubt on the agreements and promises it made to the UN and Turkey in the document signed yesterday in Istanbul by a missile attack on the territory of the port city of Odessa. The Russian missile is Putin’s spit in the face of UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the President Turkey to Recep Erdogan, who made great efforts to reach an agreement, and to whom Ukraine is grateful,» Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.
«We call on the UN and Turkey to ensure Russia’s compliance with its obligations within the framework of the safe operation of the grain corridor. In case of failure to fulfill the agreements reached, Russia will bear full responsibility for the deepening of the global food crisis,» the ministry’s representative stressed.
On Friday, 22 July, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to recommence exports of grain from the Black Sea ports.
Ukraine previously reported that the agreement on grain exports was signed only with Turkey and the UN, denying any direct dealings with Moscow. Russia then signed an identical agreement with Turkey and the UN.