Ukraine warned on Thursday to ships sailing through the Black Sea towards Russian-controlled ports that could be attacked, after Moscow carried out bombing raids on the Ukrainian ports of Mykolaiv and Odessa in a new “hell night”
Following similar threats from Moscow, Ukraine warned on Thursday that all ships sailing the Black Sea towards Russia and areas occupied by Moscow’s troops may be considered “as transport of military goods with all associated risks.”
Ukraine accuses Russia of specifically attacking its port infrastructure with the aim of preventing any possible restart of its grain exports.
The attacks were condemned by the UN Secretary General, António Guterres.
“These attacks are having an impact far beyond Ukraine. We already see the negative effect on global wheat and corn prices, hurting everyone, but especially vulnerable people in the global south.”Guterres said in a statement from his spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric.
In the early hours of Thursday, at least two people were killed and more than 20 wounded in Russian drone and missile strikes on southern Ukrainian ports, authorities said, posting images of buildings burning or partially collapsed.
In Odessa, the janitor of a building was found “under the rubble” after a shelling that destroyed an administrative building in the center and damaged several houses, reported the governor of the Odesa region, Oleg Kiper.
In Mikolaiv, the mayor’s office indicated that “at least five residential buildings were damaged” and the body of a person was found.
“It was a night from hell for our people!”summed up the director of the Ukrainian emergency service, Serguiy Kruk.
The Ukrainian air force said that Russia launched a total of 38 missiles and drones against the two cities.
“Unfortunately it is not possible to intercept all missiles, in particular the Kh-22 and Onyx supersonic missiles, which are very difficult to destroy,” Oleg Kiper specified on Telegram.
These missiles, which Russia uses very little, have already been launched during an attack on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday against grain terminals and port infrastructure in Odessa and Chornomorsk, destroying silos and 60,000 tons of grain.
On Thursday, the Russian military reported that it only attacked military installations in the Odesa region and near Mykolaiv.
“They are dead”
Right in Mykolaiv, rescue teams were working through the rubble to find survivors, an AFP journalist noted.
Oleksiy Luganchenko, 72, feared the death of his sister who were in the rubble. The body of his brother-in-law has already been recovered.
“Who needs this war?”he asked himself. “I told them they had to go and now they are dead.”
The start of the Russian offensive in February 2022 led to the blockade of Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea until an agreement mediated by Turkey and the UN was signed in July last year, which was extended twice.
But on Monday the Kremlin announced it was withdrawing from the pact after months of complaining about a breach of a provision in the agreement to export its agricultural products and fertilizers.
On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin assured that Russia is ready to return if the “totally” their demands, and accused the Western powers of “political blackmail”.
a fire continues
In Crimea, the southern Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, a drone strike left a teenage girl dead and damaged four administrative buildings, Moscow-appointed local governor Sergei Aksionov said Thursday.
Local authorities evacuated 2,000 civilians on Wednesday due to a fire on a military ground in the eastern part of the peninsula, which continued on Thursday.
Ukraine did not claim responsibility for the bombing, but its forces have increased attacks on Crimea, which is a key supply point for Russian troops on Ukrainian soil.
On the front lines, fighting is concentrated in eastern Ukraine, where the counter-offensive launched by kyiv in June is struggling to break through Russian lines despite supplies of Western weapons.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podoliak said his country needs an additional 200-300 armored vehicles to break through Russian lines and 60-80 F-16 jets, plus 5-10 US-made Patriot air defense systems or their French counterpart SAMP/T.
Source: AFP
Source: Gestion
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