Ukraine will continue to work on unblocking the ports even despite the missile attack on Odesa

On the second day after the signing of the agreement on the restoration of the safe export of grain from the ports of Ukraine, Russia launched a missile attack on the port of Odessa. With this, she confirmed the worthlessness of her government's promises regarding security guarantees and the desire to solve only her issues related to the export of grain and fertilizers. In addition, the Russian Federation tried to write into the agreement a complete ceasefire in the south in order to stop the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces, but Ukraine understands that Russia will not comply with its obligations, but will use the break to restore reserves.

At first, the Russians denied the missile attack on Odessa, but later their Foreign Ministry confirmed the attack.

Turkey's Defense Ministry expressed concern about the strike immediately after the agreement was signed, but stressed that Russia denied involvement in the shelling.

The New York Times published the opinion of a high-ranking UN official that "technically, Russia did not violate the agreement, as it did not undertake to stop attacks on parts of Ukrainian ports that are not used for grain exports. Perhaps there were military facilities nearby."

However, the UN later reported that their representative's comment to The New York Times was not the organization's official position, and the UN Secretary of State condemned the shelling of the Odesa port.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that "the Russian missile is Putin's spit in the face of UN Secretary of State António Guterres and Turkish President Erdogan, who made a lot of effort to conclude the agreement."

In Istanbul, a coordination center with representatives of Ukraine, OO and Russia, which will monitor the work of the "grain corridors" and monitor the absence of weapons on ships heading to the Black Sea ports for agricultural products, became operational.

The Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, O. Kubrakov, confirmed that despite the missile attack on Odesa, Ukraine will continue work on unblocking the export of grain from the Black Sea ports, because "the whole world is watching the situation and hopes for its solution, which will save not only the economy of Ukraine, but also millions of people from hunger and billions from poverty."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia reported that the country signed with the UN not only an agreement on "grain corridors for the export of Ukrainian grain", but also a three-year memorandum of understanding on the export of Russian agricultural products, which will allow to avoid the obstacles created by the USA and the EU for the export of grain and fertilizers in the field of finance , insurance and logistics, to obtain exemptions for these products from the previously introduced restrictions.

We see that in exchange for signing an agreement on the resumption of grain exports from Ukrainian ports, Russia is trying to remove sanctions and restrictions on its exports as much as possible, while at the same time creating obstacles for grain supplies from Ukraine, which is the main competitor on the world market. Shelling of ports threatens ships and increases the cost of insurance and freight, reducing the number of people willing to bring their ships to Ukrainian ports.