Russian Defense Ministry Admits Its Missles Hit Odessa 俄國防部證實 飛彈襲擊烏克蘭敖德薩

The Ukrainian military had said Russian missiles hit the southern port of Odessa threatening a deal signed just one day earlier to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war. Meanwhile, the Russian foreign minister praised the Arab leaders' 'balanced' position on war in Ukraine during trip to Cairo, Egypt.

Residents of Odessa, Ukraine's port city on the Black Sea, first heard the news that Russia and Ukraine had signed a grain export agreement. They did not expect that a few hours later, they would be hearing the sound of missiles passing overhead. The Russian Ministry of Defense admitted the attack on the 24th.

Igor Konashenkov, Spokesperson, Russian Defense Ministry: “A docked Ukrainian warship and a warehouse with U.S.-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles were destroyed by long-range precision-guided naval missiles in Odesa seaport on the territory of a ship repair plant.”

The Ukrainian military said that Russian missiles attacked the southern port, threatening grain exports. The day before, under the coordination between the United Nations and Turkey, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement to suspend attacks on the port and lift the blockade, so that 20 to 25 million tons of grain worth about US$10 billion can be exported. No one expected that missiles would be passing overhead after a few hours. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was visiting Cairo after the agreement was signed, assured Egypt on the 24th that the food order it placed with Russia would not be a problem. At the press conference after the meeting, Lavrov refuted the condemnation from many countries. 

Sergei Lavrovk, Russian Foreign Minister: “If you just take a look at the list of sanctions, yes food was exempted. But what was not exempted was the possibility for the Russian ships to call on the Mediterranean ports. What was not exempted was the possibility of foreign ships to call on the Russian ports to take grain and other food cargo. ”

85 percent of Egypt's wheat imports come from Russia and Ukraine. The country has been deeply impacted since the war started. Lavrov met with representatives of the Arab League and praised these countries for not choosing sides and being "balanced, fair, and responsible." 

Agence France-Presse reported that the United States has been trying to isolate Russia, but have not made major gains in the Arab world. Many countries, due to their high reliance on imported Ukrainian wheat, do not want to directly confront Moscow.

烏克蘭黑海港市敖德薩居民先是聽到俄烏簽署糧食出口協議的消息，沒想到幾個小時後，卻聽到飛彈從頭頂掠過的聲音，俄羅斯國防部24日承認攻擊。

俄羅斯國防部發言人科納申科夫指出：「在敖德薩海港一個修船廠範圍內，一艘停靠的烏克蘭戰艦，以及一個裝有美國提供的魚叉反艦飛彈裝置的倉庫，被一個遠程精確引導海軍飛彈摧毀。」

烏克蘭軍方表示，俄羅斯飛彈攻擊南部港口，威脅到糧食出口。前一天在聯合國跟土耳其居中協調下，俄烏才簽署協議，對港口暫停攻擊、解除封鎖，讓卡住的2000萬到2500萬噸的糧食、約100億美元的穀物與農產品得以出口；沒想到幾個小時後，卻聽到飛彈從頭頂掠過的聲音。協議簽下後，正於開羅訪問的俄羅斯外交部長拉夫洛夫，24日向埃及保證，向俄羅斯下訂的糧食訂單不成問題；會晤之後的記者會，拉夫洛夫也針對多國譴責俄羅斯予以反擊。

拉夫洛夫說：「如果你看了制裁清單，是的糧食被豁免了，但沒被豁免的是，俄羅斯船隻停靠地中海港口的可能性，但沒被豁免的是，外國船隻停靠俄羅斯港口以獲取糧食和其他食物的可能性。」

埃及有85%的小麥進口來自俄烏兩國，戰爭開打以來深受衝擊，拉夫洛夫與阿拉伯聯盟代表見面，還讚揚這些國家沒有選邊站，「立場平衡、公平、負責任」。法新社報導指出，美國一直試圖孤立俄羅斯，但在阿拉伯世界沒有重大斬獲，許多國家基於高度仰賴進口烏克蘭的小麥，他們並不想直接跟莫斯科撕破臉。