Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko said at least six explosions were heard in Odessa.
It comes a day after ministers from both Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement – brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in Istanbul – to allow the export of grain from Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, aimed at alleviating the global food crisis caused. by war.
“That’s all you need to know about deals with Russia,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas added on Twitter. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said the bloc “strongly condemns” the attack.
“To strike a crucial target for grain exports in Istanbul one day after the signing of the agreements is deeply reprehensible and demonstrates once again Russia’s utter disregard for international law and obligations,” Borrell wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
“Russia agreed to a deal on grain exports, but immediately attacked it – demonstrating that they want to continue to threaten the world’s food security,” Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko said in an interview with DailyExpertNews on Saturday.
“New campaigns are coming [Putin] will surely attack Odessa and the only answer of the world for this is to give weapons to Ukraine – finally to give Ukraine long range missiles, fighters. And that is the only answer to this aggression by Putin and the restoration of international order,” he said.
The strikes hit a gas station in the port, Serhii Bratchuk, spokesman for Odessa’s regional military administration, said Saturday.
“Today, 4 missiles hit Odessa. Thank God our air defense forces destroyed 2 missiles on approach. Two more missiles flew to the port, to the infrastructure facility,” Brachuk said in an interview with Ukrainian media. “This is a pumping station, which is located on the territory of the port of Odessa.”
Batchuk said there were no casualties and the grain stored there was not damaged. He also said the attacks were launched from a warship.
‘Outrageous’ attack
Russia has so far blocked maritime access to those ports, meaning millions of tons of Ukrainian grain have not been exported to the many countries that depend on them.
“Today there is a beacon on the Black Sea. A beacon of hope – a beacon of opportunity – a beacon of relief – in a world that needs it more than ever,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the signing ceremony on Friday. , which was attended by Ukrainian and Russian ministers.
But Saturday’s attack sparked anger and concern over the future of that deal.
“This is everything you need to know about ‘agreements’ with the Russians. Explosions in the seaport of #Odesa. A day after the agreement with #Turkey and #UN was signed re-export of #Ukraine’s #grain including #Russia has committed to not to shell the port,” Ukrainian MP Solomiia Bobrovska tweeted.
Brachuk has advised residents to stay in shelters while air warnings continue.
“This was a ray of hope,” Samantha Power, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, said on Saturday about the grain deal.
“Now we just hear that Russian forces have bombed the port infrastructure of Odessa, the port infrastructure needed to transport these grains in the Black Sea,” Power said.
“This is grotesque and it is only the latest indication of Vladimir Putin’s cold indifference to the cost of the war in Ukraine – a manmade war that he caused for no reason; the cost in Ukraine to human life there ; and the ripple effects around the world,” she said.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday that Russia claimed it had “nothing to do” with the strikes.
“The Russians have told us in certain terms that they have nothing to do with this attack. They are monitoring the situation very closely and in detail,” Akar said in a video statement.
“We are really concerned that such an event happened after we signed the deal on grain shipments to continue their cooperation here calmly and patiently,” said Akar, who represented Turkey at the grain deal signing in Istanbul on Friday.
Akar also said that Turkey has received information about the attacks from Ukraine and “we then spoke by telephone with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, with whom we were already in contact.”
“They stated that one of the missile strikes hit one of the silos there, and the other fell in an area close to the silo, but most importantly, there is no problem with the loading capacity and capacity of the docks, and the activities can continue there,” he said.