Ukraine War: Drones Target Grain Stores In Odesa, Near Romania Border

A Russian drone attack hit Ukrainian port facilities at Izmail on the Danube, not far from Romania, which is a part of NATO.

The attack happened overnight, and the Ukraine’s defense ministry said that it caused damage to a grain mill.

After Russia quit a UN deal that made it safe for both countries to ship grain across the Black Sea, it started attacking Ukraine’s ports.

Early on Wednesday, a big fire broke out near the port of Izmail.

From the Romanian side of the Danube, about 3 km (1.9 miles) away, video footage showed how big the fire was.

During the night, Ukraine’s air force said that Russian drones were moving toward the Danube, where Ukraine has two ports, Izmail and Reni.

The military command in the south of Ukraine said that the country’s air defenses had been working for almost three hours.

Oleh Kiper, the leader of the Odesa region, said that emergency workers were at the site of the latest Russian attack, but no one had been hurt.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “Unfortunately, there has been damage,” and the regional chief shared several pictures on social media showing that several buildings had been damaged.

Last week, Russian drones also hit grain warehouses in Reni, which is further up the Danube and is also close to Romania.

Russia had already attacked the big Black Sea ports of Odessa and Chornomorsk, where 60,000 tons of grain were lost, according to the government.

When it backed out of the grain deal in July, Russia said it would go after any ships going to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, which is the same as putting a military blockade in place.

Ships have kept going from the Black Sea to Ukraine’s ports on the Danube, which is becoming a more important option.

Ukraine is one of the biggest producers of wheat and corn in the world. Until recently, most of these shipments left from the country’s Black Sea ports. If ships can’t go through the Black Sea, Ukraine’s products will depend on the Danube.

As soon as Russia pulled out of the food deal, wheat prices jumped on world markets.

There are now also worries about food security around the world, especially in poor African and Asian countries.

Local officials say that Russia also sent more than 10 drones toward Kyiv, the city of Ukraine, during the night.

Anti-aircraft systems got rid of all the bullets, but falling debris did damage to a few buildings that weren’t homes, officials say.

Russia hasn’t said anything about the strikes in public yet.