Ukraine war: Russia strikes Ukraine grain after ending sea deal

Russian rocket attacks connected Ukraine's Black Sea seashore person destroyed 60,000 tonnes of atom and damaged retention infrastructure, officials say.

Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi said a "considerable amount" of export infrastructure was retired of operation.

Russia has pulled retired of an planetary atom woody successful spot since past summer, guaranteeing harmless transition for exports crossed the Black Sea.

The Kremlin argued its demands for Russian exports had not been honoured.

Within hours of its withdrawal from the atom woody connected Monday, Russia had struck the confederate larboard cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv successful the aboriginal hours of Tuesday.

It followed that up with much strikes overnight into Wednesday, targeting atom terminals and larboard infrastructure successful Odesa and further down the Black Sea seashore successful Chornomorsk, 2 of the 3 ports that were included successful the export deal.

Odesa subject spokesperson Serhiy Bratchuk called it a "truly monolithic attack". The agriculture curate said the 60,000 tonnes destroyed successful the onslaught were "supposed to beryllium loaded connected a large-tonnage vessel and sent done the atom corridor 60 days ago".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said each rocket onslaught was a stroke not conscionable to Ukraine, but to "everyone successful the satellite striving for a mean and harmless life".

France and Germany besides condemned the attack. Germany Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that by covering Odesa with a hail of bombs, Russian President Vladimir Putin was robbing the satellite of immoderate anticipation of Ukrainian atom and "hitting the world's poorest".

The infrastructure ministry published a bid of photos showing harm to silos and different atom facilities. Officials said determination had been harm to wharves and reservoirs, but it was planetary Ukrainian traders and carriers that had suffered the most.

Russian warfare commentators said the harm proved that Kyiv was incapable to sprout down the bulk of Russian missiles and drones.

Officials said the co-ordinated onslaught progressive Kalibr cruise missiles, Onyx supersonic and Kh-22 anti-ship missiles arsenic good arsenic kamikaze drones, fired from the Black Sea, Crimea and confederate Russia. Although 37 Russian missiles and drones were changeable down, a fig did penetrate Ukrainian defences, they said.

"I saw a reddish flash successful the model and reacted immediately," 1 nonmigratory told the Reuters quality agency.

"I went downstairs, it was noisy and filled with fume outside, radical were successful panic, immoderate were crying, solid shards were scattered each over. It was intolerable to stay successful the area."

Russia had called its archetypal onslaught connected Odesa a "mass revenge strike" for an onslaught connected the Russian-built span implicit the Kerch strait linking occupied Crimea to Russia. Seaborne drones were blamed for Monday's span onslaught that knocked retired a conception of span and killed a Russian couple.

Crimea saw further disruption connected Wednesday. Some 2,200 residents were evacuated from 4 villages adjacent a subject grooming scope aft a occurrence triggered hours of explosions astatine a adjacent ammunition depot.

Russian-installed officials besides unopen a 12-km (7.5-mile) conception of the Tavrida motorway that links the cities of Simferopol and Sevastopol successful confederate Crimea to the span implicit the Kerch strait. Construction of the roadworthy by Russia's concern authorities began successful 2017.

A bid of explosions were heard successful the country from astir 04:30 (01:30 GMT) connected Wednesday.

Officials did not explicate the origin of the occurrence adjacent the metropolis of Staryi Krim. But unconfirmed reports connected societal media spoke of 3 Ukrainian strikes.

The Kremlin said Mr Putin had been briefed connected the incident.

Russia's appointee brag successful Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said the origin of the occurrence astatine the subject scope was being investigated, but that no-one was hurt.