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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenksyy on Saturday accused Russia of routinely violating agreements after the Odesa attack.
"This proves only one thing: no matter what Russia says and promises, it will find ways not to implement it," Zelenskyy said during a meeting with US lawmakers, according to a statement from the Ukrainian presidency. The accusations come after Russian missile strikes hit the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa, just one day after Ukraine and Russia agreed on a deal that would allow the resumption of vital grain exports from the region. Serhii Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odesa military administration, said two missiles hit the infrastructure of the port and two were shot down by Ukraine's air defence. At least six explosions were heard in Odesa, according to Ukrainian member of parliament Oleksiy Goncharenko. Meanwhile, the UN and EU condemned the strike on Odessa, reported France24. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "unequivocally" condemned the attack. "The Secretary-General unequivocally condemns reported strikes today in the Ukrainian port of Odesa," his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq says in a statement. "Full implementation (of the deal) by the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Turkey are imperative," Haq adds. The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell slams what he called Russia's "reprehensible" missile attack. "Striking a target crucial for grain export a day after the signature of (the) Istanbul agreements is particularly reprehensible and again demonstrates Russia's total disregard for international law and commitments," he tweeted. Meanwhile, Russia denied attacks on the Ukrainian port after the grain deal, reported Xinhua. Russian officials told Ankara that Russia had "nothing to do" with the attacks on Ukraine's key Black Sea port of Odesa, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday. "In our contact with Russia, the Russians told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with these attacks and that they were examining the issue very closely and in detail," Akar told Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency. "The fact that such an incident happened right after the agreement we made yesterday regarding the grain shipment worried us," he said. Akar said he also had phone conversations with Ukrainian ministers and received information regarding the incident. Turkey sent the two countries a message, in which it said it would like to see both sides continue their cooperation "calmly and patiently" under the agreement signed on Friday, the minister said. The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed respectively by Russia and Ukraine on Friday with Turkey under the auspices of the UN in Istanbul, would allow significant volumes of commercial food and fertilizer exports from three key ports in the Black Sea -- Odesa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny, the UN said in a statement on its website. A joint coordination center has started operating in accordance with the agreement to monitor implementation, the Turkish minister added. According to a copy of the agreement released by Andrii Sybiha, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, the deal will be effective for 120 days and can be extended for another 120 days if neither party terminates it, reported Xinhua. Ukraine is among the world's leading grain exporters, supplying more than 45 million tons annually to the global market, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. (ANI)
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