The United Nations said on Wednesday that Russian bombing of Ukrainian ports is having catastrophic consequences for millions of people around the world struggling with hunger.
The governor of the Odessa region, Oleg Kiper, said that Russian forces this Wednesday bombed port infrastructure in Reni and Izmail, on the Danube, essential for the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine Denise Brown said it was “hugely alarming” that two more port areas were bombed, injuring at least seven people.
“The consequences of this ruthless and brutal pattern of Russian attacks are catastrophic for the Ukrainian people and for the 345 million people facing hunger worldwide,” Brown said in a statement.
Brown recalled that international humanitarian law strictly prohibits attacks on civilian infrastructure.
“This has to end,” he said.
“It is shocking, but since July 17 there has been almost one attack per day on ports and grain warehouses in Ukraine,” Brown said, as quoted by the Spanish agency Europa Press.
On that date, Russia withdrew from the Black Sea grain initiative, which had been in place for a year under agreements between the United Nations, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russian forces today launched 44 Iranian-made Shahed drones against the Odessa (south) and Sumy (northeast) regions.
The drones were “mainly targeted at the south of the Odessa region and the port infrastructure,” the air force said, adding that it shot down 32 of the devices.
The governor of Odessa said seven civilians were injured, six in Reni and one in Izmail, two of whom were in serious condition.
The Russian bombardment took place on the same day that Ukrainian forces attacked the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) southeast of Izmail as the crow flies.
Sevastopol serves as the main base for the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
The attack injured 24 people, damaged two ships that were being repaired and caused a fire in the facilities, Russian authorities said, according to the US agency AP.
The Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has been a frequent target of Ukrainians since Russian troops invaded the neighboring country on February 24, 2022.
In August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to do everything he could to retake Crimea and asked international allies to support the effort.
According to AP, today’s attack on the Sevastopol shipyard appears to have been one of the largest in recent weeks.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Ukraine launched 10 cruise missiles at the shipyard and three maritime drones at Russian ships in the Black Sea.
The ministry states that seven of the ten missiles and three drones have been shot down.
The shipyard is of strategic importance because it is where the ships of the Black Sea Fleet are removed.
Information released by both sides about the progress of the war cannot be immediately verified by independent sources.
Source: DN
