Ukrainian authorities said that Russian drones targeted the port of "Ismail", one of the ports southwest of the Odessa province, which is one of the largest grain river ports in Ukraine and is located on the Danube River on the border with Romania, which led to the disruption of work at the port, and recorded a rise in grain prices.
A spokesman for the military administration in the city of Odessa said that the attack caused damage to the port and grain silos, while sources confirmed the cessation of operations at the port, which is the main alternative route for the export of Ukrainian grain since the cessation of exports through the ports of the Black Sea in mid-July.
According to the Southern Operations Command of the Ukrainian army, Russian drones were launched from the Sea of Azov across the Black Sea to hit the port and infrastructure of the South Odessa region on the Danube, which led to fires in the port's grain silos and caused serious damage to industrial facilities and the port's administrative building.
The attack comes a few days after Russian drones hit grain warehouses in Rennie, located on the Danube River near Romanian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian attacks on ports and grain silos in Odessa targeted global food security.
Zelensky called on the world to respond when civilian ports are targeted, and when what he described as terrorists deliberately destroy grain silos.
Alexander Kobrakov, Ukraine's deputy prime minister, revealed that the Russian attacks destroyed up to 40,<> tonnes of grain destined for African countries, China and Israel.
These attacks were reflected in global cereal prices, with wheat prices jumping by 4.7% and maize prices rising by 2%.
Criticism and request for support
In international reactions, France accused Russia of "deliberately endangering global food security by destroying essential grain export infrastructure".
The French foreign ministry spokeswoman said in a statement that it was "pursuing its own interest at the expense of the most vulnerable populations by raising the prices of agricultural products and trying to prevent one of its main competitors from exporting its products," Ukraine.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, whose country is located along Ukraine's southernmost point at the Danube, said Russia's repeated attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure on the river were "unacceptable".
For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan - in a phone call - called on his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to avoid any "escalation" in the Black Sea in the context of the conflict with Ukraine, the presidency said.
The Turkish presidency said Erdogan had assured Putin that the long-term halt in the grain transport initiative would not be in anyone's interest, and that poor countries were the most affected. Erdogan stressed that Turkey would continue diplomatic contacts to ensure the continuation of the grain export deal.
For his part, Putin stressed his country's readiness to immediately return to the grain export agreement if the West fulfills its commitments under the agreement.
The Kremlin has announced telephone talks between President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a grain export agreement through Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.
Putin asked Erdogan to support Turkey for Moscow's grain export, thereby breaking Western sanctions.
The Kremlin said after the call between the two presidents that "given the food needs of the countries most in need, options are being studied to allow the delivery of Russian grain (...) There is a will to cooperate in this area with Turkey."
Since withdrawing from the Black Sea grain export deal in July, Russia has stepped up attacks on vital storage facilities for Ukrainian grain intended for export.
The deal allowed some 33 million tonnes of grain to leave Ukrainian ports, easing concerns about food shortages in weaker countries.
With the Black Sea effectively closed, the ports of Ismail and Reni on the Danube are now the main export route for Ukrainian agricultural products via neighbouring Romania.
Field developments
In other field developments in Ukraine, the head of the military department in Kiev, Sergei Popko, said that Ukrainian air defenses shot down 10 Shahid drones targeting the capital Kiev in the past hours.
Popko added that the drones attacked Kiev simultaneously, from several directions and were destroyed by air defenses and their debris fell in 3 districts of the capital and caused material damage.
In Moscow, Russian media said so-called regional self-defence battalions had been armed in the southwestern Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine.
Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov attended the delivery ceremony of the equipment, which includes automatic rifles, drones and anti-aircraft guns.
The formation of these battalions was announced from the people of the region after they were attacked by militants of the so-called Russian Freedom Corps.