Black Sea
According to Ukrainian sources, Russia has attacked the Black Sea port city of Odesa in Ukraine by air for the second straight night. Meanwhile, reports of explosions in the Russian-annexed Crimean port city of Sevastopol have also come up. Oleh Kiper, the regional governor of Odesa, said on social media early on Wednesday that air defence systems were working to repel Russian air attack. He asked locals to remain inside.
Russia withdraws from Black Sea grain deal
Attacks on Odesa, one of Ukraine’s biggest grain export ports, came after Moscow threatened retaliation for a Monday explosion on a bridge connecting Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow blamed on Ukraine. The United Nations warned that Moscow’s decision to withdraw from a deal allowing the sale of grain from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports might lead to starvation throughout the world shortly after the bridge was struck on Monday.
The Odesa military administration’s spokesperson, Serhiy Bratchuk, claimed in a voicemail posted early on Wednesday that Russia’s strikes were intended to terrify both the international community and those who support the continuation of Ukraine’s crucial grain exports.
“(They’re) are trying to scare the whole world, especially those who want to work for the grain corridor … Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations,” Bratchuk said.
“But I think that all normal, rational people will look and say: Odesa was not afraid, is not afraid and will not be afraid – we will work,” he said.
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Explosions in Sevastopol
Additionally, early on Wednesday morning, residents of Sevastopol reported hearing explosions in the port city where Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is headquartered, according to online news sources in Ukraine. Additionally, online video allegedly depicted missile launches from Sevastopol. There were no additional information or independent corroboration of the Sevastopol incidents.
The entire eastern section of Ukraine was on air raid alert starting shortly after midnight on Wednesday, and the Ukrainian Air Force also issued a warning about a possible Russian cruise missile launch from the Black Sea overnight. Pro-Kremlin military blogs claimed that the strikes on Odesa were “massive” and that Moscow was targeting the city and surrounding areas with a combination of drones and missiles.
