The United States Goverment has condemned Russia’s continued attacks on Ukrainian grain infrastructure and called for Russia to immediately return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
In a briefing on Wednesday, the Deputy Spokesperson of the State Department, Vedant Patel who made this known, said such actions by the Kremlin negatively affect Ukrainian farmers and all those around the world who are most vulnerable to food insecurity.
This came after the report of multiple Russian drone attacks damaged warehouses and granaries in a Ukrainian port on the Danube, near the Romanian border, addition to previous Russian attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure in Odesa, Reni, and Izmail.
He said this escalation demonstrates Moscow continues to prevent grain and foodstuffs from reaching those who need it most throughout the world, adding that it is unacceptable. “Putin simply does not care about global food security.
“Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure facilities have destroyed hundreds of thousands of Ukraine’s grain, grain bound for global markets. This further escalates the global food crisis, and it keeps food prices high.
“These attacks are in addition to the loss of a quarter of the arable land in Ukraine, a vital global breadbasket, as a result of Russia’s illegal war. The contrast here is quite sharp. Our Ukrainians are inspiring the world, while Russia starves it by weaponizing food.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian forces launched a drone attack and damaged a port on the Danube River in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region overnight, CNN reported citing a Ukrainian official.
The attack resulted in a fire in one of the Ukrainian ports of the Danube River, according to Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration.
He said the Russian strikes on the Danube River port damaged warehouses and granaries. The employees of the State Emergency Service promptly eliminated the resulting fires.
The Odesa Oblast Head stressed that as a result of the attack, “fortunately, there were no dead or injured.”
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force Command reported that in the skies of Odesa and Mykolaiv oblasts, air defenses shot down 13 of the Shaheds launched by Russia, not mentioning the total number of the “kamikaze drones” used in the attack.