Russian strikes on Odessa and Kiev accuse Putin of "spitting in the face" of the world
Russian strikes targeted the port of Odessa on Saturday, as Kyiv announced, accusing Vladimir Putin of "spitting in the face" of the United Nations and Turkey, and of abandoning the implementation of the agreement signed Friday on the resumption of grain exports suspended due to the war.
Without a direct response, Moscow denied Ankara any involvement in these strikes.
On Saturday, Russian missiles hit the port of Odessa, where Ukraine's grain for export is processed, Ukrainian military spokesman Yury Ignat told AFP.
The spokesman said, "The bombing of the port of Odessa, where grain is processed before it is exported. We shot down two missiles, and two others hit the port, where there is definitely grain."
The missile strikes on Odessa caused casualties, according to the region's governor, Maxim Marchenko, without specifying the number of people injured.
"Unfortunately, some people were injured. The port infrastructure has been damaged," Marchenko said in a video statement on social media, without giving details of the severity of the injuries.
Odessa is the largest city and most important port on the Black Sea coast, and therefore essential for the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports.
Following this, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on Saturday of not fulfilling its obligations.
"This proves only one thing: no matter what Russia says and promises it makes, it will find ways not to keep it," Zelensky said during a meeting with US lawmakers, according to a statement issued by the presidency.
"It did not take more than 24 hours for the Russian Federation to violate the agreements and promises made to the United Nations and Turkey in the document signed yesterday in Istanbul," said foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko.
He added that the Russian president "spit in the face of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep (Tayyip) Erdogan, who have made efforts to reach an agreement," stressing that Moscow will bear "full responsibility" in the event of the failure of the agreement on the export of grain.
For his part, Guterres stressed that he "unequivocally condemns the strikes."
"There must be full implementation (of the agreement) by the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Turkey," he said in a statement.
In Brussels, European Union Foreign Minister Josep Borrell accused Russia of carrying out a "reprehensible" missile attack on the port of Odessa.
He wrote on Twitter that "hitting a major grain export target the day after the signing of the Istanbul Accords is unacceptable and shows once again Russia's complete disregard for international law and obligations."
Britain on Saturday condemned the "horrific" attack on the port of Odessa, and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: "It is absolutely appalling that only a day after this agreement, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a completely unprovoked attack on Odessa."
For its part, Moscow denied Ankara any involvement in these strikes.
"The Russians told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with this attack, and they are looking into this issue closely," Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar confirmed.
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