Ukrainian ports under attack as cargo ship leaves Odesa despite Russian blockade

A cargo ship has sailed out of Odesa in southern Ukraine for the first time since Russia reimposed a blockade on grain exports from the Black Sea city, despite security warnings from Moscow and continuing missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian ports.

The Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte, carrying some 30,000 tonnes of cargo including food products, left Odesa on Wednesday morning, as Russian explosive drones targeted Ukrainian ports to the west on the Danube river and damaged grain storage depots.

Kyiv announced the creation last week of a “temporary corridor” for ships heading to and from three large ports in and around Odesa, which it said was primarily for vessels – such as the Joseph Schulte – that have been trapped in Ukraine since Russia launched its full invasion of its neighbour nearly 18 months ago.

Russia pulled out of a United Nations-brokered agreement last month to allow Kyiv to export grain from its Black Sea ports, and warned that it would now view all ships sailing to and from Ukraine as possible carriers of weapons and therefore potential targets.

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Moscow’s military has launched intense missile and drone attacks on Odesa since abandoning the deal, and last Sunday fired warning shots at a ship crossing the Black Sea towards the Ukrainian Danube port of Izmail to force it to stop for an inspection.

“The last time a ship left under the grain agreement was on July 16th from the port of Odesa,” said Ukrainian infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov.

“After the collapse of the grain agreement, the Russian Federation resorted to systematic air attacks on port infrastructure to stop Ukrainian agricultural exports. At the same time... there are attempts at provocations in the Black Sea to influence the movement of ships to Ukrainian ports,” he added.

[ Russia’s ‘brutal pattern’ denounced as more deadly missile strikes hit Ukraine ]

Ukrainian officials said air defence systems shot down 13 Russian “Shahed” drones in the early hours of Wednesday, 11 of which were intercepted over the Odesa region.

“Russian terrorists attacked Odesa region with strike drones twice overnight. The main target was port and grain infrastructure in the south of the region. As a result of enemy strikes on one of the Danube ports, warehouses and granaries were damaged,” said Oleh Kiper, governor of the province, who added that no one was hurt in the attacks.

The Ukrainian ports of Reni and Izmail, on the Danube just across the border from Romania and close to where the river flows into the Black Sea, now play a large role in exports of grain and other goods from the beleaguered country.

Moscow has not commented on Ukraine’s “temporary corridor” for shipping around Odesa, but claims it used the grain deal as cover to build explosive marine drones in its Black Sea ports, and says western states failed to implement parts of the agreement that should have benefited Russian food and fertiliser exports.

The Russian defence ministry said its forces strengthened their position in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine, where fighting has intensified in recent weeks. Analysts say Russia wants to regain territory ceded last September and to force Ukraine to divert troops to the area from its counteroffensive operations further south.

Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar confirmed reports that her country’s military had liberated the village of Urozhaine, on the border between the partially occupied regions of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia.