Russian drone attack hits Danube port infrastructure, Ukraine says

Sept 3 (Reuters) – Russian drones hit Danube River port infrastructure that’s crucial to Ukraine’s grain exports, injuring a minimum of two individuals within the assault on southern components of the Odesa area on Sunday, Ukrainian officers mentioned.

The Danube has grow to be Ukraine’s important route for exporting grain since July, when Russia stop a U.N. and Turkey-brokered deal that had given protected passage to Kyiv’s exports of grains, oilseeds and greens oils by way of the Black Sea.

Sunday’s assault happened the day earlier than Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan are on account of maintain talks within the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. Turkey has been urgent to revive the grain deal.

Ukraine’s South Navy Command mentioned on social media that a minimum of two civilians have been injured within the early morning assault on what it referred to as “civil infrastructure of the Danube”.

The Ukrainian Air Power mentioned air defence programs shot down 22 of the 25 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia.

Officers didn’t give particulars of which port facility was hit however some Ukrainian media reported blasts within the Reni port, which together with Izmail is certainly one of Ukraine’s two main ports on the Danube. The army mentioned a fireplace that resulted from the assault on the facility was shortly extinguished.

The Russian Defence Ministry was quoted by Interfax as saying {that a} group of Russian drones efficiently struck gas depots on the Reni port utilized by the Ukrainian army.

Reuters couldn’t independently confirm the experiences.

Reni and Izmail have been repeatedly attacked by Russian drones in current weeks.

“Russian terrorists proceed to assault port infrastructure within the hope of scary a meals disaster and famine on the earth,” the Ukrainian president’s chief of workers Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram.

He posted a photograph of a firefighter directing water on the burning ruins of concrete constructions.

The Black Sea grain deal, reached in July 2022, aimed to alleviate a worldwide meals disaster. Ukraine is a serious producer of grains and oilseeds and the interruption to its exports after the outbreak of warfare in February final yr pushed international meals costs to file highs.

Russia has complained that beneath the deal its personal meals and fertiliser exports confronted obstacles and that not sufficient Ukrainian grain was going to international locations in want.

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