Russia attacks Ukrainian ports close to NATO border prior to discussions on grain deal

Russian forces attacked Ukrainian port facilities on the Danube River that are used for sending food out of the country on Sunday. This happened just one day before Russian President Vladimir Putin is supposed to talk about restarting a deal to export grains with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

At least two people got hurt in the attacks, as told by a spokesperson from the local military. The ports were damaged, which caused a fire. But the fire was put out fast.

The Air Force of Ukraine said that 25 flying robots were used in attacks on the Odesa region during the night, but only 3 of them were not destroyed.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said they were attacking fuel storage places in the Ukrainian port of Reni, which are used to supply Ukraine’s military. The Russian statement also said that the attack went well and all planned targets were dealt with effectively.

The attack hit very close to the NATO member Romania, and it quickly angered the country. Romania’s Ministry of Defense strongly criticized the attack, saying it was wrong and went against the rules of international humanitarian law.

The ministry stated that Romania’s land and territorial waters were not in immediate danger.

A person who helps Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Kremlin is trying to cause a shortage of food by conducting these attacks.

Russian terrorists are still attacking port infrastructure. Their goal is to cause a food crisis and famine worldwide. Andriy Yermak, an assistant, shared this information on the messaging app Telegram.

During the night, Russia launched airstrikes to attack Ukrainian shipping infrastructure. This is not the first time they have done this since July. In July, Russia stopped a deal that allowed Ukrainian ships to go around a blockade and safely pass through a waterway to reach Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait and connect to markets worldwide.

This president has supported both Russia and Ukraine in their conflict.

The breakdown of the agreement caused the prices of food worldwide to rise and strengthened concerns that the world’s most impoverished nations would have difficulty feeding their people.

Erdogan, the leader of a country that has control over entering and leaving the Black Sea, played a part in arranging the first agreement and is now trying to mediate and convince Russia to join again. He will probably talk about bringing back the deal when he meets Putin in the Russian city of Sochi on Monday.

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has said that Russia is willing to rejoin the pact if it is assured that the benefits promised to them will actually happen.

For now, Ukraine has tried to make temporary routes for merchant ships, but Kyiv cannot promise that they will be safe from Russian attacks or mines. Many ships have used these routes even though they are dangerous.

The United Nations has been trying to bring the agreement back to life.