Russia attacks Black Sea port cities killing at least one
(Update 1: Changes headline, reledes, adds detail throughout)
Kyiv, Jul 20 (EFE).- Russia attacked the Ukrainian city of Odesa for the third consecutive night killing at least one person and injuring four others, authorities reported on Thursday.
Moscow’s latest wave of attacks have targeted Ukraine’s port cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv after it exited the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative on Monday.
A security guard in his 20s died in Odesa after the building he was working in was struck during a Russian attack, regional governor, Oleg Kiper, said on Telegram.
“Unfortunately, as a result of the Russian night attack we have one deceased in Odesa,” Kiper said, adding that the victim “was born in 2002” and worked in “a civilian building” as a security guard.
Russia’s Kamikaze missiles and drones have caused “damage to port infrastructure” in the region, Kiper added, as well as the destruction of “an administrative building in the center of Odessa” and damage to several residential buildings.
Six people, including a child, were wounded in the attack, according to the governor.
The port city of Mykolaiv, in southern Ukraine, also came under attack on Wednesday night, damaging homes.
Eighteen people were injured, nine of whom were hospitalized, authorities reported.
Russia has been targeting Ukraine’s port cities with drones and missiles since announcing its withdrawal from an agreement that allowed the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.
Moscow said conditions of its deal with the UN had been breached, warning that it could no longer guarantee the safe passage of ships traveling through the northwestern Black Sea.
All Ukrainian grain exports have been leaving the war-torn country from three ports located in the Odesa region.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday accused Russia of deliberately targeting grain export infrastructure in attacks on Odesa port.
“Every Russian missile is a blow not only to Ukraine but to everyone in the world who wants a normal and safe life,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell denounced the attacks on Odesa saying they “would create a huge food crisis in the world.”EFE
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