EU condemns Russian missile attack on Odessa port

July 23 () –

The High Representative for Foreign Policy of the EU, Josep Borrell, has condemned the missile attack perpetrated this Saturday against the Ukrainian port of Odessa, one of the three designated for the export of cereals according to the agreement signed on Friday between Ukraine, Russia , Turkey and the UN.

“The EU strongly condemns the Russian missile attack on the port of Odessa,” Borrell posted on his official Twitter account.

“Attacking a crucial target for grain exports the day after the signing of the Istanbul agreements is particularly reprehensible and demonstrates once again Russia’s utter disregard for international laws and commitments,” he added in his message, which concludes with a “#StopRussia”.

The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, has also condemned this “intolerable” attack. “Russia attacks the port city of Odessa less than 24 hours after signing an agreement to allow agricultural exports. The Kremlin continues to use food as weapons. Russia must be held accountable,” she wrote on Twitter.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Agrarian Policy has reported that grain was being prepared for export at the port, according to the Ukrinform news agency.

“We are not going to give figures because the Ministry of Infrastructure is responsible. We were waiting for tomorrow for the first shipment,” the Ministry has indicated.

In total, according to the Ukrainian authorities, four missiles were launched at the port. One of them hit the commercial area, while two others were intercepted by the Ukrainian air defense system. The fourth missile would have hit another area of ​​the port, in an attack described by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry as “a spit by Vladimir Putin in the face of the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, and the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan”. At the moment there is no news of personal injuries.