Russian drones attacked port and grain storage facilities in the southern Ukrainian coastal region of Odessa in the early hours of Wednesday, setting fire to some of them, regional governor Oleh Kiper wrote on the messaging app Telegram. The capital Kiev was also targeted by a massive drone attack, but all were shot down, causing some property damage, Reuters and AFP report.
“During the night, the enemy aimed attack drones at the southern Odessa region. As a result of the attack, fires broke out at port facilities and industrial infrastructure in the region, and an elevator was damaged. All relevant services are working on the scene,” announced Odessa Region Governor Oleh Kiper. No casualties were reported, the governor said.
“The obvious target of the enemy was the port and industrial infrastructure of the region. The air defence forces worked tirelessly for almost three hours,” the Ukrainian army said.
Ukrainian media reported that the Iranian-made “Shahed” drones arrived from the Black Sea and then moved west along the Danube River to Ismail, a key port from which Ukrainian grain is transported by barge to the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta for onward shipment, News.ro reported.
For the first time since the expiry of the grain deal, several foreign cargo ships arrived in Ismail port via the Black Sea on Sunday, Ukrainian media reported.
Another Russian attack in late July targeted the Ismail port terminal in the Danube Delta, destroying a grain warehouse.
Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukrainian agricultural and port infrastructure after refusing to extend the agreement on grain transport on the Black Sea, which allowed Ukrainian exports. Since then, the small Danube river ports of Reni and Ismaïl in the Odessa region bordering Romania have become the main outlet for Ukrainian agricultural products.
Another major drone strike targeted the capital Kiev overnight. According to the head of the capital’s military administration, Sergei Popko, groups of “Shahed” drones, coming from several directions, entered the capital’s skies simultaneously. “All targets – more than ten drones – were detected and destroyed in time,” he said on Telegram.
However, debris from the downed drones fell in the Solomianski, Goloseevskiy and Sviatoșinski neighbourhoods. “There is damage to non-residential premises and road surfaces, but no serious damage or fires,” the military administration said.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitciko confirmed that drone fragments had fallen in several neighbourhoods and that there was material damage. “There are no dead or injured in the capital,” he also confirmed on Telegram.
In the Goloseevskiy district, debris fell on a playground and a non-residential building, according to the military administration.
The day before, Russia had said it had annihilated a wave of air and sea drone attacks against Moscow, Crimea and the Russian Black Sea fleet. A skyscraper in the capital’s financial district was hit for the second time in just days.
Attacks against the Russian capital and its environs have been increasing since spring, with one incursion targeting the Kremlin itself in May.
Russia announced on Monday that it would step up its strikes against Ukrainian military infrastructure in response to drone strikes against its territory, which it blames on Kiev.–agencies
