Ukraine: at least two dead in Russian attack on Odesa port, China consulate damaged
- Two people were killed and 20 wounded following strikes on Odesa and the southern port city of Mykolaiv, local officials said
- The Chinese consulate in Odesa’s city was damaged, but no one was injured as staff had already left
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Crimean authorities have said two people died in Moscow’s latest attack on the peninsula that also damaged several buildings including the Chinese consulate.
Russian strikes hit the Ukrainian port of Odesa for a third consecutive night since Moscow pulled out of a grain export deal, officials said on Thursday.
At least 20 people were wounded following the strikes on Odesa and the southern port city of Mykolaiv: local officials posted images showing buildings in flames with facades partially destroyed.
Among the buildings damaged was the Chinese consulate in Odesa’s city, governor Oleh Kiper announced later on Thursday. The damage appeared to be minor. Kiper posted a photograph online showing the building with broken windows.
No one at the consulate was injured as staff had already left the site, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the blast wave shook off parts of the building’s wall surface and windowpanes, Xinhua reported.
“We will take all measures necessary to keep Chinese institutions and nationals safe in Ukraine,” the spokesperson said.
The two people who died in Odesa were a 21-year-old security guard and another person who was found dead under rubble during a search and rescue operation, according to Kiper.
Ukraine threatens Russian vessels, reminds Moscow of sinking of the Moskva
Russia, which is an ally of China, attacked the port cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv overnight for the third successive night.
“The aggressor is deliberately hitting the port infrastructure – administrative and residential buildings nearby were damaged, also the consulate of the People’s Republic of China. It shows the enemy does not pay attention to anything,” Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app.
In Mykolaiv, another southern city close to the Black Sea, at least 19 people were injured overnight, the region’s Governor Vitalii Kim said in a statement on Telegram.
Russian strikes partially destroyed a three-story building and caused a fire that affected an area of 450 square metres (4,800 square feet) and burned for hours. Two people were hospitalised, including a child, according to the regional governor.
A previous round of overnight strikes on Odesa destroyed 60,000 tonnes of grain meant for export, Kyiv said on Wednesday, with President Volodymyr Zelensky accusing Moscow of “deliberately” targeting the supplies.
Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year saw Black Sea ports blocked by warships until the gain agreement, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022.
The Kremlin said on Monday it was exiting the deal, after months of complaining that the parts that had allowed the export of Russian food and fertilisers had not been honoured.
The deal enabled the export of more than 32 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain over the last year, bringing relief to countries facing critical food shortages such as Afghanistan, Sudan and Yemen.
Wheat prices soared on the European stock exchange on Wednesday.
Russia halts deal allowing Ukraine to ship grain in blow to global food security
Also Wednesday Moscow said it would consider cargo ships travelling to Ukraine through the Black Sea potential military targets.
A senior United States security official said that Russia was considering attacking civilian ships on the Black Sea and putting the blame on Kyiv.
National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge cited Russia’s release of a video showing its forces detecting and destroying an “alleged Ukrainian sea mine”.
“Our information indicates that Russia laid additional sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports,” he said.
“We believe that this is a coordinated effort to justify any attacks against civilian ships in the Black Sea and lay blame on Ukraine for these attacks.”
In Crimea, a drone strike launched by Ukraine damaged four “administrative buildings” and killed a teenage girl, its Moscow-installed governor said early Thursday.
Sergei Aksyonov, the official, said the strike took place in the northwestern part of the Black Sea peninsula where he said emergency and other services were working.
“Unfortunately, there were victims. A teenage girl was killed. I express my sincere and deep condolences to her family and friends. All necessary support will be provided to the family.”
There was no immediate reaction to his assertion from Ukraine.
Russia seized and annexed Crimea, where its Black Sea Fleet is based, from Ukraine in 2014.
Ukraine grain deal can work without Russia, Zelensky says
Kyiv says Crimea is Ukrainian and that it intends to take it back by force as part of its drive to expel Russian troops from its territory.
The strike appeared to be the latest attack by Kyiv on the key supply artery for Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.
It came a day after a fire at a military site in Crimea forced authorities to evacuate thousands of civilians.
Officials have not specified the cause of the blaze, but some Russian media reported that detonations were heard in the area and footage showed columns of black smoke in the sky.
The Kremlin on Wednesday accused the West of turning a blind eye to what it said were “terrorist attacks” committed by Ukraine inside Russia, noting what it said was the silence this week over a deadly attack on the Crimean Bridge which it blamed on Kyiv.
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Crimea bridge 'emergency' caused by Ukrainian surface drones, Russia says
The Kerch bridge is the only bridge connecting Russia to Crimea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to retaliate for the attack, which killed two civilians and left their child wounded.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move not recognised by the international community.
Kyiv has repeatedly said it plans to take back the peninsula.
With the daily strikes in Odesa, Russian President Vladimir Putin “is robbing the world of any hope of Ukrainian grain”, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Twitter.
Ukraine said it was prepared to continue grain exports despite the end of the deal and called on other countries to help.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s European neighbours urged the EU to extend a grain import ban until the end of the year, amid fears local farmers would be undercut by diverted Ukrainian supplies.
In June, Brussels agreed to allow Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania to restrict imports of grain from Ukraine through September.
On the front, fighting is concentrated in eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv’s counteroffensive is so far struggling to break through Russia’s defensive lines despite extensive support from its allies.
Ukraine is expected to receive more military support in the conflict with the United States announcing a new US$1.3 billion aid package featuring air defence systems, anti-tank missiles, drones and other equipment.
Additional reporting by Reuters, Bloomberg, Associated Press
