Putin punishes Zelensky's port axes in the Black Sea to put pressure on Ukraine's allies and prevent grain from being exported

INTERNATIONAL / By Luis Moreno

Ukrainian ports have been the main target of the Russian Army's offensive for three days. Every morning the explosions wake up, in the best of cases, the citizens of the cities that house these vast infrastructures; essential for the export of cereals from a country that is considered the granary of the world. This Thursday has not been the exception and 19 cruise missiles have hit the southern regions of Odesa and Mikolaiv, leaving more than twenty injured and at least three dead.

The attack this Thursday has damaged and destroyed several buildings. In addition to the missiles, Russia also launched 19 Shahed kamikaze drones. A statement from the Ukrainian Army assured that they managed to intercept 5 missiles and 13 drones. In his address to the nation, President Volodímir Zelenski took the opportunity to ask for more anti-aircraft systems and to be able to protect his cities and ports, something that he has asked his allies on several occasions in recent months.

According to the Ukrainian export company Kernel, if the attacks against the ports continue, grain prices could increase between 30 and 40% and sunflower oil could become more expensive by up to 25%.. This same company already lost in the bombardment on Wednesday around 60,000 tons of grain that was to be exported to China.

So far the largest number of people affected has been in Mikolaiv, where 19 people were injured, including five minors, and at least two deaths were confirmed, although search operations continue. In Odessa, of the eight people injured, three were emergency services workers.. In addition, a security guard in his 20s died in this city after being hit by a missile. According to the Military Administration of the Odesa region, the Russian attack on Thursday caused a fire in an area of 300 meters.

Emergency service in front of a destroyed building in Odessa, Ukraine. LIBKOS / AP

Meanwhile, in Kherson and Dnipro, local authorities have denounced that Russian troops continue to attack civilian infrastructure.. On this occasion a school, a cultural center and a residence have been damaged. Although no victims of any kind have been registered. On the other hand, a 62-year-old man has died in Kharkiv when he was surprised by artillery fire.

Ukraine assures that the attacks directed at “ports, docks, homes and companies” are related to Moscow's withdrawal from the grain agreement on July 17. According to kyiv, the objective is to press for the Kremlin's requests to be heard and to prevent Ukrainian grain from being exported without them.

Russia's demands to recover the agreement that have emerged are the connection of its agricultural bank, Rosseljozbank, to the SWIFT international banking system; the lifting of sanctions on spare parts for agricultural machinery; the unblocking of logistics and transport insurance; the unfreezing of assets; and the resumption of supply through the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline, which exploded on June 5. The Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, assured this Thursday from Brussels that the European Union will do “everything possible” to resume the treaty agreed with the UN to export the cereal. Recovering this agreement is essential for world food security and for not adding tension to a food market that “has been very stressed since the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine,” said the head of Spanish diplomacy.

In his statement, the Spanish minister remarked that the “responsibility for blocking the agreement lies solely with Russia” and, therefore, “for its economic and social consequences”.. So not only have they withdrawn from the grain agreement but they are also burning it,” Borrell said.