Russian attack damages port grain infrastructure - Kyiv
The attack took place at Chornomorsk portA Russian attack on the southern Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk damaged grain export infrastructure and destroyed thousands of tons of stored grain, Reuters reported, citing Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky on Wednesday.
He put the amount of grain destroyed in the overnight air strike at 60,000 tons, and said the grain should have been loaded and shipped 60 days ago under a wartime deal meant to guarantee the safe passage of grain via the Black Sea, he said.
Ukraine said the Russian air strike was an intentional and deliberate attack on the grain terminals and port infrastructure after Moscow quit the year-old deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.
"The night-time attack knocked out a significant part of the grain export infrastructure of the port of Chornomorsk," Solsky said on the Telegram messaging app.
He added that, according to experts, it would take at least a year to fully repair the damaged objects.
Solsky said that grain infrastructure of international and Ukrainian traders and carriers such as Kernel, Viterra, CMA CGM Group had suffered the most damage.
"This is a terrorist act not against Ukraine, but against the entire world. The world's food security is once again in danger," he said.
Kernel, Ukraine's largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, confirmed on Wednesday that its grain transhipment facilities and stored grain in Chornomorsk "have been significantly damaged".
"Initial estimates suggest that extensive time would be required to return the assets into operation," Kernel said.