KYIV, UKRAINE — A Russian air strike overnight on Sept. 25 in the Odesa, Ukraine, region caused significant damage to port infrastructure and destroyed grain facilities that were storing almost 1,000 tonnes of grain, according to Reuters.
The attack was the latest in a series of missile and drone strikes that Ukrainian officials said are intended to prevent it from shipping its agricultural products to the rest of the world.
Russia has targeted ports and grain infrastructure since leaving the Black Sea Grain Initiative in mid-July. That deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, had allowed for the safe passage of grain following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Kyiv is increasingly shipping grain along the Danube River, by road and by train, and has established a “humanitarian corridor” along the Black Sea coast to ship grain to Africa and Asia.
The first two vessels with grain to use the corridor left the Chornomorsk port on the Black Sea last week.