Ukraine Says Russian Missiles Hit Odessa Port

Russian missiles hit the major southern Ukrainian port of Odesa on Saturday, dealing a blow to a deal signed on Friday to unblock grain exports through Black Sea ports, the Ukrainian military said.

The landmark deal between Moscow and Kiev on Friday to ease supply shortages by allowing certain exports through Black Sea ports, including Odesa, is vital to curbing the rise in global food prices. UN officials had said on Friday they hoped to have the deal operational within a few weeks, but it was not yet clear whether that would be possible given Saturday's attacks. "The enemy attacked the Odessa sea trading port with Kalibr cruise missiles," Ukraine's Southern Operations Command wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Two missiles hit infrastructure in the port, while the other two were shot down by air defense forces, it said. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called on the United Nations and Turkey, which brokered Friday's agreement, to ensure that Russia honors its commitments and allows free passage through the grain corridor. US Ambassador to Kiev Bridget Brink called the attack "outrageous". "The Kremlin continues to use food as a weapon. Russia must be held to account," Brink wrote on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR). The blockade of Ukrainian ports by Russia's Black Sea fleet since Moscow invaded its neighbor on February 24 has trapped tens of millions of tons of grain and grounded many ships. This has exacerbated bottlenecks in the global supply chain and, together with Western sanctions on Russia, has fueled food and energy price inflation. Russia and Ukraine are major global wheat suppliers and the war has caused food prices to soar. The global food crisis has pushed some 47 million people into "acute hunger", according to the World Food Program. Friday's deal aims to avert shortages in poor countries, in part by injecting more wheat, sunflower oil, fertilizer and other products into world markets, including for humanitarian needs at lower prices. The deal, expected to be fully operational in a few weeks, will bring grain shipments through the three reopened ports to pre-war levels of 5 million tons a month, UN officials said Friday. Under the agreement, Ukrainian authorities will direct ships through safe channels in mined waters to the three ports, including Odessa, where they will be loaded with grain. Moscow denies responsibility for the crisis, blaming Western sanctions for slowing its food and fertilizer exports and Ukraine for laying mines as it approaches Black Sea ports. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday the deal would make about $10 billion worth of grain available for sale and export about 20 million tons of last year's harvest.