Russia attacked Ukraine's grain port of Izmail, an inland port among others in the early hours of the morning with Shahed drones, the Ukrainian military reported. "As a result of the attack, fires broke out at the facilities of the port and industrial infrastructure of the region, and an elevator was damaged," regional governor Oleg Kiper told France24. No casualties were reported.
Russia exited the Black Sea grain deal on July 17. The deal allowed Ukraine to export grain to world markets through the city of Odesa. Since exiting the deal, Russian troops have fired dozens of drones and missiles at the port of Odesa and the region's river ports, which are being used as alternative routes.
A grain silo was damaged in the Danube port of Izmail in the Odesa region, the Ukrainian defence ministry said. "Ukrainian grain has the potential to feed millions of people worldwide,” the ministry wrote on the social media platform X.
"Unfortunately, there are damages," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram. "The most significant ones are in the south of the country. Russian terrorists have once again attacked ports, grain, global food security," he wrote. About a quarter of Ukraine's grain exports would take place out of Ukraine’s Danube river ports.
Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office released pictures showing a war crimes investigator outside a ruined building, and at least two damaged silos with wheat tumbling out, the Guardian reported.
The cities of Kherson and Kyiv also came under attack last night with fragments of a downed drone falling on the administration building in the Solomianskyi district. In Kherson, two people were injured after the city came under artillery fire at night. Houses, offices and cars were damaged too.
Poland, in the meantime, said it would send more troops to its eastern border. The statement comes after Poland accused Belarus of "violation of Polish airspace" with two helicopters. Belarusian defence ministry denied the claim, and, in the meantime, Poland informed NATO of the incident.
Also, in the meantime, as a result of Ukrainian grain ports being attacked, wheat prices jumped by 4 per cent in Chicago, Reuters reported. Corn prices also rose by 2per cent amid attacks. After Russia exited the Black Sea grain deal, the UN warned of a potential food crisis and hunger in the world's poorest countries.
Since July 17, Moscow has hit 26 port facilities, five civilian vessels and 180,000 tonnes of grain, Ukrainian officials have said. Experts have said, Ukraine's grain exports for July were down 40 per cent from June. Russia reportedly told the US that it is prepared to talk on a deal that had allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, but "we haven't seen any evidence of that yet", the US envoy to the United Nations said on Tuesday, Sky News reported.