Saturday’s attack came hours after the warring parties reached an agreement to allow grain exports that bans attacks on ports. According to Turkish information, Moscow initially stated that it had nothing to do with the attack.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said “high-precision” Kalibr weapons were used in the attack. Military infrastructure was destroyed. She failed to mention that in the agreement signed in Istanbul on Friday with Turkey and the UN mediating, Russia had also committed itself not to attack the port of Odessa and two other Ukrainian ports in order to enable grain exports.
Sharp criticism from Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sharply criticized the attacks and condemned them as an act of “blatant Russian barbarism”. The beatings are another reason for giving Ukraine such weapons “that are necessary for our victory,” said the head of state in a video message published on Saturday evening. The Ukrainian military said Sunday shelling continued in the north, south and east.
In the Donbass, the Russian forces are preparing an attack on the city of Bakhmut. According to the Ukrainian army, a total of 39,520 Russian soldiers were killed between February 24 and July 24. In addition, 1,722 Russian tanks, 3,942 armored fighting vehicles, 869 artillery systems, 255 anti-aircraft missile systems, 113 air defense units, 221 combat aircraft, 188 helicopters and 15 warships were destroyed, according to the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform. These figures could not initially be confirmed independently.
Zelenskyy accused Russia of shelling the port of Odessa a day after the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain was signed in Istanbul. Russia rejects this, as Turkey announced after talks with the war party.
On the other hand, Zelenskyj said that Russia had exposed itself politically with the rocket attacks. “If anyone in the world said earlier that it is necessary to enter into dialogue with Russia, to reach agreements on a ceasefire without liberating our territory from the occupiers, today’s missiles have destroyed the possibility of such statements,” he said. The attack was internationally condemned.
On Friday, Russia pledged in the agreement that ships for export would be allowed to use a sea corridor and not fired at them. The three ports involved must therefore not be attacked. Among other things, it is about the export of millions of tons of grain. The agreement, signed through the mediation of the United Nations and Turkey, provides for exports to be monitored from a control center in Istanbul.
According to leading EU representatives, the USA also sharply criticized Russia. Just one day after the agreement to export Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea, Russia broke its commitments, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday (local time). “This attack raises serious doubts about the credibility of Russia’s commitment to yesterday’s agreement.”
Blinken said the shelling was undermining the work of the United Nations, Turkey and Ukraine to get essential food products to world markets. Russia bears responsibility for worsening the global food crisis. Moscow has approved the grain export agreement and now has the duty to fully implement it.
Zelenskyj also explained in his video that the 150th day of the war was like many others. In addition to the rocket attacks, there were heavy fighting in the Donbass and in the Kharkiv region. Nevertheless, it is also visible that Ukraine is moving towards victory. This is particularly evident in the Cherson region in the south. “The Armed Forces of Ukraine are moving step by step in the area,” said Zelenskyy.
Russia had captured the southern Ukrainian region on the Black Sea immediately after the start of the war at the end of February. Separatists there who are loyal to Moscow recently announced that they want to hold a referendum on joining Russia. Ukraine wants to prevent this and wants to retake the area with the help of heavy weapons supplied by the USA and other NATO countries.
Source: Nachrichten
