Russian drones damaged port infrastructure in Odesa and targeted the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, authorities said Wednesday.
The Ukrainian army said it repelled Iraninan-made Shahed-136 drones launched from the Sea of Azov.
“The enemy’s obvious target was the port and industrial infrastructure of the region. Air defense forces worked non-stop for almost three hours,” the Operational Command South wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
The strike damaged port infrastructure, Odesa region Governor Oleh Kiper said, adding that there were no reports of casualties.
“As a result of the attack, fires broke out at the facilities of the port and industrial infrastructure of the region, and an elevator was damaged,” he said.
Russia has been pounding Odesa, one of Ukraine’s main ports, ever since Moscow withdrew from an agreement last month that allowed for the safe export of grains through the Black Sea.
Formerly obscure ports, Izmail and Reni, have become crucial to global food supplies and are struggling to process all the grain, causing a massive bottleneck.
The Danube River port of Izmail is now the main export route for Ukrainian agricultural products. But these ports have also become targets.
Last week, Kyiv said it lacks the means to defend itself against strikes on its grain infrastructure carried out by Russia, which is blocking “virtually all” Ukrainian ports, according to an army spokesperson.
