Live blog: 'No setback' at Ukraine’s Odessa port after missile attack

Saturday, July 23, 2022

“No setback” at Ukraine’s Odessa port after missile attack

Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has said that Türkiye continues to fulfill its responsibilities under the grain deal it brokered between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul.

Speaking to Anadolu News Agency, Hulusi Akar said Türkiye has been in contact with both Ukrainian and Russian sides about Saturday's missile attack on Ukraine's Odesa port, adding: "We continue to fulfill our responsibilities in line with the deal we brokered yesterday."

"The fact that such an incident took place right after the agreement we made yesterday really worried us," he added. 

Akar noted that Ukrainian officials said "one of the missiles hit one of the (grain) silos, and the other one fell in an area close to the silo, but the important thing is that there is no setback in the loading capacity and capability of the docks, and that the activities can continue." 

Ukraine hits bridge used for Russian supplies in occupied south

Ukraine struck a bridge in the occupied Black Sea region of Kherson, targeting a Russian supply route as Kiev prepares for a major counter-offensive, a Ukrainian regional official said.

The strike hit the Daryivskyi bridge across the Ingulets river used for supplies by Russian troops, days after a key bridge over the nearby Dnieper was hit, said an adviser to the region's governor who is on Ukrainian-held territory.

"Every bridge is a weak point for logistics and our armed forces are skillfully destroying the enemy system. This is not yet the liberation of Kherson, but a serious preparatory step in that direction," the official, Serhiy Khlan, wrote on Facebook. 

'Historic victory of diplomacy': Pakistan hails Türkiye's role in Ukraine grain deal

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailed Türkiye for its key role in preventing a looming global food crisis by brokering a deal on Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports.

With the mediation of Türkiye and the UN, Kiev and Moscow signed an agreement in Istanbul on Friday to resume Ukrainian grain shipments from Black Sea ports.

“Ukraine grain deal signed in Istanbul is a historic victory of diplomacy signifying that all crises can be averted through meaningful engagement,” Sharif said on Twitter.

Albania hails Türkiye's role in Ukraine grain deal

Albania’s prime minister hailed Türkiye for brokering the Ukraine grain exports deal. 

"This shows once again that the only way to resolve problems between states is through dialogue and diplomacy," said Edi Rama. 

UK govt calls Odessa attack 'absolutely appalling'

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called a Russian attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa "absolutely appalling" and "completely unwarranted".

Truss said the strike, just a day after a deal between Ukraine and Russia to unblock grain exports, showed that Russia's Vladimir Putin could not be trusted.

"We need to urgently work with our international partners to find a better way of getting the grain out of Ukraine that doesn't involve Russia and their broken promises," she added.

Russia finds ways 'not to implement' promises: Zelenskyy

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of routinely violating agreements after Moscow's forces bombed Odessa's port, a facility key to a grain export deal the warring parties signed a day earlier.

"This proves only one thing: no matter what Russia says and promises, it will find ways not to implement it," Zelenskyy said during a meeting with US lawmakers, according to a statement from the presidency. 

The Ukrainian military said its air defences had shot down two cruise missiles but two more hit the port, threatening the landmark agreement hammered out over months of negotiations aimed at relieving a global food crisis. 

Two Americans die in Ukraine's Donbass war zone

Russian missile strikes on the port in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa caused injuries, the regional governor said, without specifying how many people were hurt.

"Unfortunately, some people are injured. Port infrastructure is damaged," the Odessa regional governor Maksym Marchenko said in a video statement on social media without giving details of the severity of the injuries. 

Russian strikes kill three in central Ukraine - governor

Russian missile strikes on railway infrastructure and a military airfield in central Ukraine have left at least three people dead, including a Ukrainian serviceman, a regional governor has said.

"Nine Ukrainian servicemen were injured and one serviceman is dead. First, two guards of an electrical substation were killed," Andriy Raikovych, the head of the Kirovograd region told Ukrainian media.

Raikovych said earlier in a statement on social media that a barrage of 13 sea-launched Russian cruise missiles had struck outside the administrative centre of the region. 

Russian missiles strike Ukraine's Odessa port - official

Ukraine says Russian missiles have struck the Odessa port, a key Black Sea terminal, one day after Moscow and Kiev penned a deal to resume grain exports blocked by the conflict.

"The enemy attacked the Odessa sea port with Kalibr cruise missiles. Two of the missiles were shot down by air defences. Two hit port infrastructure," Sergiy Bratchuk, a representative of the Odessa region said in a statement on social media.

UK: Ukraine continues offensive against Russia in Kherson

Heavy fighting has been taking place in the last 48 hours as Ukrainian forces continued their offensive against Russia in Kherson province, west of the Dnipro River, British military intelligence has said.

Russian forces are using artillery fire along the Ingulets River, a tributary of the Dnipro, the UK's Ministry of Defence said. "Supply lines of the Russian forces west of the river are increasingly at risk," the ministry said in an intelligence update.

It added that additional Ukrainian strikes have caused further damage to the key Antonivsky Bridge, though Russia has conducted temporary repairs.

Hungary's Orban calls for new EU strategy on Ukraine

The European Union needs a new strategy on the crisis in Ukraine as sanctions against Moscow have not worked, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said. 

The strategy should aim for peace instead of winning, Orban said in a speech in Romania.

Lithuania lifts ban on rail transport into Russian Kaliningrad

The Baltic state of Lithuania has lifted a ban on the rail transport of sanctioned goods into and out of the Russian territory of Kaliningrad, Russia's RIA news agency said.

The European Union last week said the transit ban only affected road, not rail, transit, and Lithuania should therefore allow Russia to ship concrete, wood and alcohol across EU territory to the exclave.

"It is possible that some goods will be transported today," RIA quoted Mantas Dubauskas, spokesman for the state railway company, as telling Lithuanian TV.

Fitch and Scope downgrade Ukraine ratings

Credit rating firms Fitch and Scope downgraded Ukraine to a 'C' grade — just one step from default — two days after the war-ravaged country requested a debt payment freeze.

A "default-like process has begun" Fitch said referring to Kiev's "consent solicitation" request for a two-year deferral on its $20 billion-plus stock of international debt.

"The rating would be downgraded to 'restricted default' and the affected instruments to 'D' following the consent solicitation 'effective date' should it be accepted, which we view as likely," Fitch added.

For live updates from Friday (July 22), click here