Grain deal on knife-edge after 'Russian missiles' hit key Ukrainian port
A breakthrough deal to unblock Ukraine grain shipments is on a knife-edge following missile strikes on a key Ukrainian port Saturday.
Odesa port was hit by alleged Russian missiles yesterday morning - just hours after Kyiv and Moscow signed an agreement to allow wheat and maize exports from Ukraine.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of "barbarism", saying the attack had “destroyed the very possibility” of dialogue with Moscow.
On Sunday, Moscow said Russian missiles had only hit military targets in Odesa and that no grain storage facilities were struck.
Kyiv -- which claimed Russia deliberately targetted the port in southern Ukraine -- vowed that grain exports would continue, despite the deal seemingly in tatters.
It remains to be seen how the airstrike will affect plans to resume grain shipments.
On Friday, Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement to allow millions of tonnes of much-needed grain to be shipped from Ukraine over the Black Sea.
Under the deal, which was brokered in Istanbul by Turkey and the UN, both parties agreed "not to attack" ships carrying foodstuffs.
Odesa seaport, a crucial site for exporting grain, was hit by multiple Russian missiles early Saturday morning, according to Ukraine's airforce.
"The port of Odesa, where grain is processed for shipment, was shelled. We shot down two missiles, and two more missiles hit the port territory, where, obviously, there is grain," Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuri Ignat told reporters.
Local authorities said the strikes had left wounded in Odesa, without specifying how many or how serious their injuries were. Port infrastructure was also damaged by explosions and ensuing fires, they said.
Odesa -- the largest and most important port on the Black
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