Russia strikes Ukrainian grain ports
STORY: Ukrainian authorities released bodycam video they say shows the aftermath of a Russian missile attack on Odesa – one of Ukraine's main ports for exporting grain - a day after Russia pulled out of a U.N.-backed deal that let Kyiv safely ship its agricultural products to global markets.
Several homes were damaged by Russian strikes, Tuesday, as well as unspecified port infrastructure in Odesa. That’s according to Ukrainian officials, who also describe a serious fire at a port in Mykolaiv.
Ukraine's air force said six Kalibr cruise missiles and 31 out of 36 drones had been shot down, mostly over the coastal Odesa and Mykolaiv regions in the south.
The Russian Defence Ministry said it hit fuel storage in Odesa - where the Ukrainian navy has its headquarters - and a seaborne drone factory as part of "mass revenge strikes" in retaliation for Monday’s attack on a key bridge linking Russia to Russian-occupied Crimea.
Ukraine denied involvement in the bridge attack.
Shortly after the bridge was hit on Monday, Moscow withdrew from the grain export deal… a move the United Nations said risked creating mass hunger.
If Ukrainian grain is blocked from the market, prices could soar around the world, hitting the poorest countries hardest.
Speaking at the Odesa port on Tuesday, chief of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Samantha Power announced 250 million dollars in new funding for Ukraine’s embattled farmers:
"We will work to create and expand alternative export routes for Ukrainian farmers."
Moscow rejected calls from Ukraine to allow shipping to resume without Russian participation, with the Kremlin openly saying ships entering the area without its guarantees would be in danger.
