Russia hits Ukraine’s grain for fourth day and practises seizing ships in Black Sea

KYIV - Russia pounded Ukrainian food export facilities

for a fourth day in a row

on Friday and practised seizing ships in the Black Sea in an escalation of what Western leaders say is an attempt to wriggle out of sanctions by threatening a global food crisis.

The direct attacks on Ukraine’s grain, a key part of the global food chain, followed a vow by Kyiv to defy Russia’s naval blockade on its grain export ports after

Moscow’s withdrawal this week from a UN-brokered safe sea corridor pact

.

“Unfortunately, the grain terminals of an agricultural enterprise in Odesa region were hit. The enemy destroyed 100 tonnes of peas and 20 tonnes of barley,” regional governor Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app.

Two people were hurt in the attack, he said.

Photographs from the scene showed a fire burning among crumpled metal buildings that appeared to be storehouses, and a badly damaged firefighting vehicle.

Moscow says it has been carrying out “retaliatory strikes” this week after quitting the Black Sea grain export deal. Russia described the attacks as revenge for a Ukrainian strike on a Russian-built bridge to Crimea, the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014.

Russia said it would deem all ships heading for Ukrainian waters to be potentially carrying weapons from Thursday, in what Washington called a signal it might attack civilian shipping. Kyiv later responded by issuing a similar warning about ships headed to Russia.

Russia’s Defence Ministry on Friday said its Black Sea fleet had practised firing rockets at “floating targets” and apprehending ships. Moscow’s ambassador to Washington denied any plan to attack ships.

The attacks on grain export infrastructure and perceived threat to shipping drove up prices of benchmark Chicago wheat futures on Friday towards their biggest weekly gain since the February 2022 invasion, as traders worried about supply.

The UN Security Council was due to meet later on Friday over the “humanitarian consequences” of Russia’s withdrawal from the safe corridor deal, which aid groups say is vital to stem growing hunger in a string of poorer countries.

Moscow says it will not participate in the year-old grain deal without better terms for its own food and fertiliser sales.

Western leaders have accused Russia of seeking to loosen sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine, which already exempt exports of Russian food. Russian grain has moved freely through the Black Sea to market throughout the conflict, and traders say Russia is pouring wheat onto the market.

Wagner near Poland border

A Polish broadcaster reported on Friday that a military reconnaissance drone of unspecified origin had crashed near a base in south-western Poland earlier this week.

Nato member Poland has been reinforcing its border with Belarus, where Russia’s Wagner mercenary force has taken up residency after a failed mutiny in June.

The mercenary chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was shown on video on Wednesday welcoming his fighters to Belarus, and Belarus has said Wagner fighters are now training its troops near the Polish border.

People in Poland near the border on Thursday said they could hear shooting and helicopters.

In Ukraine, Mr Yuriy Malashko, the governor of the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, reported 80 Russian attacks on settlements in the region in the previous 24 hours, and said four people had been killed.

A married couple in their 50s had also been killed early on Friday in Russian shelling of the city of Kostiantynivka in the eastern region of Donetsk, the general prosecutor’s office said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky summarised the earlier attacks in his nightly video address, saying he was working to secure better air defences.

“Since Monday, Russian terrorists have already used almost 70 missiles of various types, almost 90 Shaheds (Iranian-made loitering munition), against our state,” he said, adding that most were focused on Odesa and other southern regions.

More sanctions

The United States on Thursday imposed Russia-related sanctions against nearly 120 people and entities aimed at blocking Moscow’s access to electronics and other goods that aid its war against Ukraine.

“Today’s actions represent another step in our efforts to constrain Russia’s military capabilities, its access to battlefield supplies, and its economic bottom line,” US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement.

Russia’s embassy in Washington called the latest sanctions part of the “endless attacks” by US President Joe Biden’s administration “in the context of the hybrid war unleashed by the West against our country”.

Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and claims to have annexed nearly a fifth of its territory. Moscow says it is responding to threats posed by its neighbour; Kyiv and the West call it an unprovoked war of conquest.

Mr Zelensky urged his government on Thursday to keep a tight rein on spending in wartime, resulting in Mr Olexander Tkachenko, the Culture Minister who is a proponent of several high-profile and costly projects, offering his resignation.

“Cobblestones, city decorations, fountains will have to wait. Victory first,” Mr Zelensky said. REUTERS