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Russian strike damaged 40,000 tonnes of grain: Kyiv

02 August 2023, MVT 19:21
Partial view of a four kilometers queue of grain transporting trucks waiting to enter the grain terminals in Constanta harbor, Romania on July 31, 2023. Since the beginning of the war in neighbouring Ukraine, Constanta, the largest port for cereals in Europe, has been on a race to adapt to the growing influx of Ukrainian grain. In this year's first six month, it registered a traffic of 7.5 million tons of Ukrainian grain compared to 8.7 million tons for all of last year. Romania and four other EU members have asked for the extension of the ban on the domestic sale of Ukrainian grain products, currently set to expire on September 15. -- Photo: Daniel Mihailescu / AFP
02 August 2023, MVT 19:21

Russia damaged almost 40,000 tonnes of grain in an overnight strike on southern Ukrainian ports near the Danube river, Kyiv's infrastructure minister said on Wednesday.

"The Russians attacked warehouses and grain elevators -- almost 40,000 tonnes of grain were damaged," Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in an English-language post on social media.

Kubrakov added that the grain was destined for some African countries, China and Israel, and accused Russia of using Iranian drones to carry out the attack.

"These are the very ports that have become the foundation of global food security today," he said.

Since pulling out of the landmark Black Sea grain export deal in July, Russia has intensified attacks on facilities vital for Ukrainian grain shipments.

The deal had allowed around 33 million tonnes of grain to safely leave Ukrainian ports, easing fears of global food shortages.

With the Black Sea route effectively blocked, the formerly obscure Ukrainian ports of Izmail and Reni on the Danube have become crucial to the exports.

© Agence France-Presse

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