Russian Missiles And Drones Hit Odesa Port, Related To Crimea Bridge Attacks And The End Of The Black Sea Grain Deal?

Odesa Port, Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/Yellow Chernilevsky)

JAKARTA - Russia launched missile and drone attacks in southern and eastern Ukraine overnight, damaging infrastructure at the port of the Black Sea of Odesa, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

The attack on Odesa, one of Ukraine's main ports for exporting grains, came after Russia said it would respond to the attack on the Crimean Bridge that was blamed on Kyiv.

The Ukrainian air force said six Kalibr missiles were fired overnight. Meanwhile, 31 of the 36 drones were shot down. Missiles and most of the drones fell in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions in the south, while the rest were destroyed in eastern regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv and Dnipropxisk.

Ukraine's southern military command said debris fell and a wave of explosions damaged several port houses and infrastructure in Odesa. There was no news of death but an old man was reportedly injured.

The latest attack is "further evidence that terrorist countries want to endanger the lives of 400 million people in various countries depending on Ukrainian food exports," Ukraine's Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak told Telegram.

Odesa has been frequently attacked since Russia's massive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, although the port is part of a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that allows safe exports of grains from the Black Sea.

It is known that Russia on Monday decided not to extend the Black Sea seed deal. The last ship carrying grains left Ukraine under a deal on Sunday. This deal has been extended several times, but ends on Monday.

Russia has said for months the requirements for the extension of the agreement have not been met, saying parts concerning them have not been implemented.

"In fact, the Black Sea agreement is no longer in effect today," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Unfortunately, part of the Black Sea agreement involving Russia has not been implemented so far, so the effect has been stopped," Peskov continued.

Moscow is known to have long complained that there are still obstacles to the export of its grains and fertilizers, although this was not directly approved by the West, filing a series of demands that it said had not been met.

"As soon as the Russian part of this agreement is fulfilled, the Russian side will return to the implementation of this agreement soon," Peskov said.

In this regard, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Russia's decision to suspend its participation in the Black Sea seed deal would lead to blows to people in need around the world.

"Hundress of millions of people are facing starvation and consumers are facing a global cost of living crisis. They will pay the price," Secretary General Guterres told reporters in New York, reported by The National News.

"In the end, participation in these agreements is an option," he added, but he also continued, "people who are struggling everywhere and developing countries have no other choice."