Russia again attacks Odesa with drones, damaging Danube port
Kyiv, Sep 13 (EFE).- Russia again attacked Ukraine’s southern Odesa region with Shahed drones overnight, damaging port infrastructure and injuring seven people, the head of the Ukrainian Military Administration in the area reported on Wednesday.
“Russian terrorists once again attacked the south of Odesa,” Oleg Kiper wrote on his Telegram account.
“Several groups of strike drones were directed to Izmail,” he added, referring to the district bordering Romania where the Danube river port of Reni is located.
He reported six civilians were injured, but later updated that to seven – six in Reni and one in Izmail, who was released from hospital.
Two men from Reni were in serious condition in the intensive care unit and being transported to Odesa. Four others were in a medium condition and undergoing treatment in Reni, Kiper said.
Ukrainian Telegram channels published images of burning objects supposedly located in the port on the Danube that has been repeatedly attacked by Russia in recent weeks.
“Damage to port and other civil infrastructure was recorded. Liquidation of the consequences is ongoing. Rescuers are putting out the fire,” Kiper added about the attack Wednesday morning.
Reni is separated from Romania, a NATO country, only by the Danube river. On Sep. 4, at least one of the Shaheds with which Russia attacked Izmail fell into Romanian territory, which has led the country to reinforce precautions in the area.
In mid-July, Russia terminated the grain agreement, by which it was to allow for one year the export of grain through three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, all of them located in Odesa region.
Since then, Russian forces have attacked Ukrainian agricultural and port infrastructure several times a week. They first focused on the Black Sea ports and now appear to have put the focus on the Danube port of Reni.
Ukraine is one of the world’s main exporters of cereal and the disruptions of this Russian campaign against its agricultural sector affect the food situation in several regions of the world, especially in Africa and Asia. EFE
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