Ukrainian maritime exports continue despite missile strike
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A Liberian-flagged vessel was hit by a Russian missile as it was entering the Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi in the Odesa region.
PHOTO: REUTERS
KYIV - Vessels were continuing to call at Ukraine’s southern Black Sea ports on Thursday, a day after Kyiv said a Russian missile killed one person when it struck a civilian ship.
The United Nations’ humanitarian envoy in Ukraine condemned the attack on Thursday, which hit a Liberian-flagged vessel as it was entering the Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi in the Odesa region.
Six ships loaded with 231,000 tonnes of agricultural products left three ports in the Odesa region on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a post on social media
“Traffic along the Ukrainian Corridor continued despite Russia’s systematic attacks on port infrastructure,” Mr Kubrakov said.
Russia has not commented on the incident.
The Black Sea is a crucial trading route for Ukraine, one of the world’s largest agricultural producers and exports.
Since Moscow pulled out of a UN-brokered deal guaranteeing safe passage for Ukraine’s agricultural exports in July, both Kyiv and Moscow have ramped up military activity in the Black Sea.
Ukraine subsequently launched a new “humanitarian corridor” – a sea route for civilian ships that avoids international waters.
The UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine criticised Russia’s continued attacks on Ukrainian exports on Thursday.
“The consequences of this brutal and relentless pattern of Russian attacks on port facilities are devastating for Ukraine’s economy and the hundreds of millions of people facing hunger worldwide,” coordinator Denise Brown said in a statement.
She said more than 30 strikes have been recorded on port facilities since the Black Sea grain initiative collapsed. AFP
