The spokeswoman for Russian diplomacy said on Sunday that Russian missiles had destroyed military infrastructure the day before in the port of Odessa, vital for the export of Ukrainian cereals.
“Kalibr missiles destroyed military infrastructure of the port of Odessa, with a high-precision strike”wrote Maria Zakharova on her Telegram account, in response to a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying that these strikes had destroyed the possibility of a dialogue or an agreement with Moscow.
According to Maria Zakharova, these missiles notably destroyed “a military star” Ukrainian. She did not elaborate or provide evidence.
After the shootings at Odessa, Ukraine accused Vladimir Putin of having “spit in the face” of the UN and Turkey and jeopardize the application of the agreement signed on Friday on the resumption of grain exports blocked by the conflict.
On Saturday, Russia had however denied to Turkey that it had been involved in these strikes: “The Russians told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with this attack and that they were looking into the matter very closely”assured the Turkish Minister of Defense, Hulusi Akar.
According to kyiv, two missiles hit the port territory of Odessa, and two more were shot down by air defenses before reaching their target.
The agreement signed on Friday in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine provides in particular for the establishment of “safe corridors” in order to allow the circulation in the Black Sea of merchant ships, which Moscow and kyiv undertake “not to attack”, according to a United Nations official.
It should make it possible to export 20 to 25 million tonnes of grain blocked in Ukraine and thus reduce the risk of a world food crisis.
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