Russian drones damage a port on the Danube, the Romanian president denounces “unacceptable” strikes

2023-08-02 13:37:51

Drone night strikes | Ukrainian port infrastructure on the Danube affected

Ukrainian port infrastructure on the Danube, crucial for grain exports, was hit by overnight Russian drone strikes, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General said on Wednesday. “The enemy attacked port facilities and industrial infrastructure on the Danube”said the prosecutor’s office on Telegram. “As a result of the strikes, an elevator, grain sheds, cargo terminal tanks, warehouses and administrative premises were damaged or destroyed”he added.

Two small Ukrainian river ports on the Danube, Reni and Izmail, in the Odessa region bordering Romania, have become the main exit route for Ukrainian agricultural products since Russia ended an agreement in July that allowed, despite the war, Kiev to export its grain. Since then, Moscow has multiplied its strikes against the Ukrainian port infrastructure.

During the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, it was Izmaïl which was hit, according to the army, which broadcast images of still smoking installations in the early morning. On July 24, Reni had come under Russian bombardment. The Ukrainian authorities provide very little information and access to these ports because of their strategic nature, so it was not possible to say on Wednesday how much exports were going to be affected.