Ukraine to restart grain exports from Black Sea ports amid Russian missile strike

Ukraine has continued to prepare to restart grain exports from its Black Sea ports amid Russian missile strike which hit the port of Odesa on Saturday, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said.

Russian missiles hit the southern port of Odesa, the Ukrainian military said, threatening a landmark deal signed just the day before to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war.

Two Russian missiles hit the port of Odesa on Saturday but caused no significant damage, public broadcaster Suspilne said, quoting the Ukrainian military.

A pumping station was hit and a strike caused a small fire that damaged houses around the port, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern military command, Natalia Humeniuk, was quoted as saying.

The grain storage area was not hit, she added.

No casualties have been reported.

“We continue technical preparations for the launch of exports of agricultural products from our ports,” Kubrakov wrote on Facebook.