Russia unleashed intense drone and missile attacks on the two Ukrainian port cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv overnight on Wednesday, destroying 60,000 tonnes of grain, according to Ukraine’s Agriculture Ministry.
The bombardment also damaged critical port infrastructure and wounded at least 12 people, officials said.
Ukraine’s Agriculture Ministry, citing experts, estimated it would take a year to restore the facilities damaged. The destroyed grain was supposed to have been loaded on to a vessel and sent through the grain corridor two months ago, the statement said.
Mr Zelenskyy said his government is trying to find a way to maintain a corridor to keep grain exports flowing despite Russia’s decision to abandon the deal brokered with the UN and Turkey.
“The corridor must be secure. In fact, knowing Russia, it won’t be safe unless the U.N. starts working very clearly and firmly at the level of the secretary-general,” he said.
Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi warned that if Ukraine cannot export food, “the population of the poorest countries will be on the brink of survival! The price of grain will increase, and not all countries will be able to afford buying agricultural products, which means food prices will significantly rise: flour, cereals, meat”.
Wheat prices rose more than 2.5 per cent on Tuesday and nearly 8 per cent on Wednesday amid the attacks in Odesa, a key hub for exporting grain, illustrating jitters in global markets. Wednesday’s trading price of $7.23 a bushel still was nearly 80 per cent below last year’s peak.
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