Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had targeted military infrastructure in a missile strike on Saturday
The Kremlin stated today that the Russian missile strike at Ukrainian port of Odessa will not affect grain exports but stressed that the United Nations must ensure the lifting of restrictions on Russian exports for it to work the landmark agreement on grain transport.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had targeted military infrastructure in missile strike on Saturdayhours after Kyiv and Moscow clinched the war’s first diplomatic breakthrough since February in an agreement to resume crucial grain exports from Ukraine.
“These strikes are exclusively linked to military infrastructure,” Peskov said. “They are in no way connected to infrastructure used to export grain. This is not expected to affect — and will not affect — the launch of missions.”
The blow in Odessa has raised questions about whether the deal will go ahead or whether all sides will honor the agreements reached in Istanbul.
Grain exports of Ukraine have been ‘frozen’ since February 24th when Russia sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine in what it calls a “special military operation.”
Russia and Ukraine are major grain exporters to the Middle East and Africa. Before February 24, the two countries accounted for nearly a third of global grain exports.
“The United Nations should do its part on the indirect restrictions imposed on Russian grain and fertilizer shipments,” Peskov said today.
“There are no direct (restrictions) but there are indirect ones that do not allow us to fully fulfill these missions, which are of critical importance for international markets and especially for those areas where hunger begins and is particularly felt.” The Kremlin said it was too early to say whether the deal would be successful until the mechanisms outlined in the deal were put into place.
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