A Russian drone attack at Ukraine’s Port of Odessa has damaged several buildings, including a grain terminal, according to a report by Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda quoting information from the Odessa Oblast Military Administration, World Grain wrote.
The military administration told Ukrainska Pravda that Ukraine air defence forces had destroyed 22 Russian drones, although several were able to escape the defence system, the 11 July report said.
According to the military administration, drone fragments set two terminals near the port on fire, one of which was a grain terminal.
The fires were put out quickly, no infrastructure facilities sustained critical damage, and there were no civilian casualties, the report said.
The attack a week before the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) between the two countries was due to expire, World Grain wrote.
Negotiations – led by the United Nations (UN) and the Turkish government – were ongoing but Russia had threatened not to extend the agreement unless a series of demands, including the removal of obstacles to Russian grain and fertiliser exports, were met, the report said.
Russia blockaded grain shipments from Ukraine’s ports for the first five months of the ongoing conflict, which began last February, but signed a deal in July – brokered by the UN and Turkey allowing the shipments to resume.
Since then, the deal had been extended several times, but the Ukraine government has speculated that Russia would not extend the deal when it expires on 18 July, according to the report.
More than 32M tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs has been shipped from Ukrainian ports since the blockade was lifted a year ago, World Grain wrote.
