by Natalia Zinets
KYIV, July 24 (Reuters) – Ukraine continued preparations on Sunday to reopen Ukraine’s Black Sea ports for the resumption of grain exports, following a Russian strike on Odessa.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky condemned “barbaric” attacks, which he said cast doubt on compliance with the agreement reached on Friday under the aegis of Turkey and the United Nations for the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, however, indicated that preparations for the resumption of exports were continuing.
Ukraine’s official television channel, Suspilne, said the missiles did not cause major damage in the port, citing the Ukrainian military.
The agreement signed by Moscow and Kyiv was hailed as a diplomatic breakthrough that would help slow the rise in food prices. However, there were no signs of a lull in the fighting as the conflict entered its sixth month on Sunday.
Although the fighting is now concentrated in the eastern region of Donbass, bordering Russia, Volodimir Zelensky said in a video released late Saturday evening that Ukrainian soldiers were advancing “step by step” in the occupied region of Kherson, inside Ukraine.
The United Nations, the European Union, the United States, Great Britain, Germany and Italy strongly condemned the bombing of Odessa.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Russian officials had told their Turkish counterparts that Russia had “nothing to do” with the bombing.
The strikes were not mentioned either in a press release issued by the Russian Ministry of Defense, or in the daily report of the Russian army. The minister did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the Ukrainian army, Russia fired several Kalibr cruise missiles against the port, two missiles having been shot down by anti-aircraft defense forces; two others having affected the infrastructure of the port.
“Unfortunately, there are injuries. The port infrastructure has been damaged,” said the governor of the Odessa region, Maksym Marchenko.
Oleksandr Kubrakov nevertheless wrote on Facebook: “We are continuing preparations for the resumption of grain exports”.
The agreement concluded between Russia and Ukraine should allow the revival of exports via secure maritime corridors, three ports being mainly concerned: Odessa, Chernomorsk and Ioujni.
(With contributions from Tom Balmforth and Reuters editorial staff, Writing by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Matt Spetalnick and Simon Cameron-Moore; French version Camille Raynaud)