After the agreement between Russia and Ukraine to secure the transportation of Ukrainian wheat was terminated, Russian armed forces attacked Odessa and its port throughout Monday and Tuesday night. According to local reports, several salvos of Russian missiles damaged the city's port infrastructure.
Destruction of grain loaders and other civilian infrastructure in the Port of Odesa. FYI: Ukraine has no real navy, i.e. large warships, so these are 100% civilian facilities.
Kerch Bridge: Used to transport troops and war materials to Ukraine.
Port of Odessa: Used to feed the… pic.twitter.com/QWRnPNZe9C
— OSINT (Uri) 🇺🇦 (@UKikaski) July 19, 2023
Several warehouses were also destroyed after the attacks. Sixteen Kaliber cruise missiles, eight Kh-22 missiles, six Onyx missiles and one Kh-59 missile were used. According to the Liveuamap.com monitoring portal, the projectiles were launched from the Crimean peninsula. According to the same sources, Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drones were also used. The Ukrainian armed forces claim that their air defenses intercepted 13 of the Russian shells.
⚡️Second night of Russian missile strikes on military targets in Odessa, South Ukraine. Probably one of the most powerful since the beginning of the Special Operation - initial reports are of 30 Caliber missiles, Kh-22 and P-800 cruise missiles, as well as about 40 Geran-2 drones pic.twitter.com/G0Gh1aHvkL
— sonja van den ende (@SonjaEnde) July 19, 2023
Russia again instrumentalizes world hunger
Hours before this attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned Ukraine against continuing to export wheat without an agreement between the two countries to utilize safe corridors. Until Tuesday, both nations were committed to allow the passage of cargo ships with grain leaving Odessa to supply Africa, Asia and Europe. The agreement, backed by the United Nations and Turkey, helped stem the rise in commodity prices around the world.
Several world leaders accused Putin of again instrumentalizing the shortage to extract something out of negotiations with Kiev. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recalled that thousands of people will go hungry again because of the end of the agreement. "Hundreds of millions facing hunger & consumers confronting a global cost-of-living crisis will pay the price," he said in a statement.
I deeply regret Russia’s decision to terminate the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative, which has been a lifeline for global food security in a troubled world.
Hundreds of millions facing hunger & consumers confronting a global cost-of-living crisis will pay the price.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) July 17, 2023
For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov informed his Turkish counterpart that the end of the agreement meant that the northwest Black Sea, through which the cargo ships transited, would become a "temporarily dangerous zone." According to the Ministry's statement, Lavrov and Turkey are studying alternatives to the Bosporus Strait route to supply grain to poorer nations.
