Serhii Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odessa military administration, said two missiles hit port infrastructure and two were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses.
At least six explosions were heard in Odesa, according to Ukrainian parliament member Oleksiy Goncharenko.
It comes a day after ministers from Ukraine and Russia signed a deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in Istanbul, to allow grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports to ease the global food crisis sparked by for the war
“This is all you need to know about the deals with Russia,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas added on Twitter. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said the bloc “strongly condemns” the attack.
“Achieving a crucial grain export target one day after the signing of the Istanbul accords is particularly reprehensible and once again demonstrates Russia’s total disregard for international law and commitments,” Borrell wrote on Twitter on Saturday. .
“Russia agreed to some agreement on the export of grain, but immediately after that attacked it, showing that they want to continue to threaten the world’s food security,” Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko said in an interview with CNN on Saturday.
“There will be new campaigns where [Putin] he will definitely attack Odesa and the world’s only answer for this is to give weapons to Ukraine; finally, give Ukraine long-range missiles, fighters. And this is the only answer to this aggression by Putin and to restore international order,” he said.
“Outrageous” attack.
Friday’s deal promised to unblock Black Sea ports to allow the safe passage of grain and oilseeds, some of Ukraine’s biggest exports.
Russia has so far been blocking sea access to these ports, meaning that millions of tonnes of Ukraine’s grain have not been exported to the many countries that depend on it.
“Today, there is a beacon in the Black Sea. A beacon of hope, a beacon of possibility, a beacon of relief, in a world that needs it more than ever,” the UN Secretary-General said on Friday. Antonio Guterres the signing ceremony, which was attended by Ukrainian and Russian ministers.
But Saturday’s attack sparked anger and concern about the future of that deal.
“This is all you need to know about the “deals” with the Russians. Explosions at the seaport of #Odesa. One day after the signing of the agreement with #Turkey and #UN for the export of the # grain of Ukraine under which #Russia has pledged not to bomb the port,” Ukrainian parliament member Solomiia Bobrovska tweeted.
Brachuk has advised residents to stay in shelters while aerial alerts continue.
US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A. Brink called the Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa “outrageous” and said the Kremlin continues to “weaponize” food and s ‘must be held accountable.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday that Russia claimed it had “nothing to do” with the strikes.
“The Russians told us in no uncertain terms that they have nothing to do with this attack. They are following the situation very closely and in detail,” Akar said in a video statement.
“We were very concerned that such an event happened after signing the agreement on grain shipments. We are also upset. But we continue to fulfill our responsibilities regarding this agreement and we also expressed in our meetings that we are in favor of the parties. to continue their cooperation here calmly and patiently,” said Akar, who represented Turkey at the signing of the grain deal in Istanbul on Friday.
Akar also said that Turkey received information about the strikes from Ukraine and “later we spoke by phone with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, with whom we were already in contact.”
“They claimed that one of the missile strikes hit one of the silos there, and the other fell in an area near the silo, but the important thing is that there is no problem with the load capacity and the capacity of the docks. and that the activities there can continue,” he said.