Ukraine says Russian airstrike hits grain ship in Pivdennyi Port

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine said on Monday that a Russian airstrike over the weekend struck a grain ship in Pivdennyi Port located in the country’s southwestern Odesa region.

The St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged ship loaded with about 6,000 tons of Ukrainian corn was damaged due to a strike on Sunday, Ukraine’s Restoration Ministry said in a statement.

None of the 15 crew members were injured in the incident at the commercial seaport in the Ukrainian city of Yuzhne near Odesa, it said.

“In general, this is already the 20th civilian vessel that was damaged as a result of Russian attacks… This is nothing but Russia's attempts to influence the successful operation of the Ukrainian Maritime Food Corridor and endanger global food security,” the statement quoted Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba as saying.

More than 70 million tons of cargo were exported through the corridor, which was established by Kyiv last August after Moscow suspended its participation in the Black Sea grain deal a month earlier, it added.

Russian authorities have not yet commented on Ukraine’s statement.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​