Russia aims missiles at Ukraine's farm storage after days of hitting port facilities
Black Sea port infrastructure. Hours later, seven Russian missiles also damaged what officials described as an «important infrastructure facility» southwest of the port city of Odesa, in what appeared to be part of an ongoing Kremlin effort to cripple Ukraine's Black Sea food exports. Officials did not immediately provide details of that attack.
During the night, two missiles struck the agricultural storage facility, starting a fire, and while workers fought to put it out another missile hit, destroying farm and firefighting equipment, the southern Odesa region's Gov. Oleh Kiper said. The attack injured two people and destroyed 100 metric tons of peas and 20 metric tons of barley, according to Kiper.
The attack was small-scale in comparison with barrages in recent days that put Odesa in Russia's crosshairs after Moscow tore up a wartime deal that allowed Ukraine to send grain through the key Black Sea port. Russia targeted Ukrainian critical grain export infrastructure after vowing to retaliate for an attack that damaged a crucial bridge between Russia and the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula. Though Friday's strike was more muted, the recent uptick in attacks has kept people in Odesa on edge.
«The enemy is continuing terror, and it's undoubtedly related to the grain deal,» said Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military's Operational Command South. Both Russia and Ukraine have announced that they will treat ships travelling to each other's Black Sea ports as potential military targets. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said the recent barrages in southern Ukraine are part of an overarching strategy.
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