The British government accuses Russia of attacking a civilian cargo ship in the port of Odessa. The US government had warned of such attacks.
Britain has accused Russia of an attempted attack on a civilian freighter in the Black Sea. The Liberian-flagged ship was one of the intended targets when Russia attacked the port of Odessa with cruise missiles on August 24, the British government said on Monday, citing intelligence information.
The Ukrainian air defense intercepted the projectiles.
US government warning
The US government had previously warned of Russian attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in the British Parliament that the attack showed how desperate Russian President Vladimir Putin is.
Day after day, his actions cause terrible suffering in Ukraine, violate the UN Charter, threaten Europe’s security and disrupt global energy and food supplies.
Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of Great Britain
Sunak: Russia is destroying grain
The attacks destroyed ports and grain silos, Sunak said.
In just one month, Russia destroyed more than 270,000 tons of grain – enough to feed a million people for a year.
Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of Great Britain
The government stressed that the amount destroyed was larger than the entire donation promised by Russia to African countries .
Cleverly: Russia is hurting the rest of the world
The British Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, also commented on the intelligence findings:
By targeting cargo ships and Ukrainian infrastructure, Russia is harming the rest of the world.
James Cleverly, Foreign Secretary Great Britain
Grain agreement ended in July
Moscow canceled the agreement to export Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea in July. Since then, according to British information, Russia has destroyed a total of 26 port infrastructure facilities in Odessa, Chornomorsk and Reni.
Before the start of the war of aggression, Ukraine served around 400 million people worldwide and was responsible for 8 to 10 percent of wheat exports and 10 to 12 percent of corn and barley exports.
Source : zdf.de
