Russia carries out air strikes for second night on Ukraine’s Odesa port – governor

July 19 (Reuters) – Ukrainian air defence methods have been engaged within the early hours of Wednesday in repelling a Russian air assault on the southern port of Odesa for a second consecutive night, the area’s governor mentioned.

Russia struck Ukrainian ports on Tuesday, a day after pulling out of a U.N.-backed deal for secure Black Sea grain exports, a choice that raised concern primarily in Africa and Asia of rising meals costs and starvation.

“Do not approach the windows, do not shoot or show the work of air defence forces,” Odesa governor Oleh Kiper mentioned on the Telegram messaging app.

All of the jap a part of Ukraine was underneath air raid alerts, beginning quickly after midnight on Wednesday.

In different battlefield stories, Moscow and Kyiv gave vastly completely different accounts of preventing in northeastern Ukraine on Tuesday.

Six weeks since Ukraine launched a counteroffensive within the east and south, Russia is mounting a floor offensive of its personal within the northeast. Moscow says the Ukrainian assault has failed.

A Russian Defence Ministry spokesman mentioned its forces had superior by as much as 2 km (1.2 miles) within the course of Kupiansk, an necessary railway junction within the northeastern Kharkiv area.

But Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar mentioned the initiative within the space had switched to Ukrainian forces.

She mentioned Ukrainian forces made new beneficial properties close to Bakhmut within the east, a city that was captured by Russian forces in May after months of battles.

Valery Shershen, a spokesperson for Ukrainian troops on the southern entrance, reported heavy preventing across the village of Staromayorske. “We have made advances through the streets,” Shershen advised the Espreso TV on-line outlet however mentioned Ukrainian forces didn’t have full management of the village.

Russian Defence Ministry accounts mentioned Moscow’s forces had hit teams of Ukrainian troopers round Staromayorske.

Reuters couldn’t independently confirm the battlefield stories of both facet.

Since Ukraine started its counteroffensive final month, its forces outfitted with billions of {dollars} value of latest Western weapons and ammunition have but to try a significant breakthrough throughout closely defended Russian strains.

UN WORKS ON IDEAS FOR GRAIN EXPORTS

At the United Nations on Tuesday, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric mentioned there have been a “number of ideas being floated” to assist get Ukrainian and Russian grain and fertilizer to world markets. Moscow’s determination raised concern primarily in Africa and Asia of rising meals costs and starvation.

The Black Sea deal was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey in July final yr to fight a world meals disaster worsened by Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and its blockade of Ukrainian ports. The two international locations are among the many world’s high grain exporters.

For Ukraine’s half, “we are fighting for global security and for our Ukrainian farmer” and dealing on choices to maintain commitments on meals provide, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mentioned in his nightly video handle on Tuesday.

Moscow spurned calls from Ukraine to permit transport to renew with out Russian participation, with the Kremlin overtly saying ships coming into the world with out its ensures can be in peril.

“We’re talking about an area that’s close to a war zone,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned. “Without the appropriate security guarantees, certain risks arise there. So if something is formalised without Russia, these risks should be taken into account.”

Russia says it might return to the grain deal, however provided that its calls for are met for guidelines to be eased for its personal exports of meals and fertiliser. Western international locations name that an try to make use of leverage over meals provides to drive a weakening in monetary sanctions, which already enable Russia to promote meals.

Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Grant McCool; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

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