Odesa: Russian drones targeted the capital Kyiv from a number of angles and damaged the port infrastructure in Odesa, according to Ukrainian authorities on Wednesday.
The army claimed to have thwarted Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone attacks on the Odesa region that were launched from the Sea of Azov through the Black Sea. "The port and industrial infrastructure of the area were the enemy's obvious targets. For almost three hours, air defence forces worked continuously, according to a Telegram post from Operational Command South.
Oleg Kiper, the regional governor, stated that the strike had damaged the port's infrastructure but added that there had been no reports of casualties.
The attack caused fires to start at the port's facilities and industrial infrastructure in the area, and a lift was damaged, he said.
Since Moscow withdrew from a grain agreement last month that permitted Kyiv's exports despite the war, Odesa, a centuries-old city on the Black Sea coast and one of Ukraine's major ports, has come under heavy Russian attack.
The historic agreement had permitted the export of about 33 million tonnes of grain from Ukrainian ports.
Izmail and Reni, two previously unimportant ports, are now crucial to the world's food supply and are struggling to process all the grain, creating a significant bottleneck.
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The primary export route for agricultural products from Ukraine is now the port of Izmail on the Danube River. However, these ports have also come under attack: on July 24, Russia used drones to attack Reni.
As a result of Russia's blockade of "virtually all" Ukrainian ports, Kiev claimed last week that it is unable to defend itself from Russian attacks on its grain infrastructure.
The military administration of Kyiv reported early on Wednesday that during an overnight attack on the capital, more than ten Russian drones were shot down.
Drone groups arrived in Kiev at once from different directions. However, all air targets—more than 10 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)—were quickly identified and neutralised by air defence forces and equipment, according to Sergiy Popko, the administration's top official.
He claimed that Russia had launched a volley of Shahed drones made in Iran, with debris striking numerous locations.
He added that emergency services were on the scene after "parts of a drone fell on the playground" and a fire broke out in a non-residential building in the Golosiivsky district.
The attack on the capital had damaged a number of districts, including the bustling Solomyansky, which houses an international airport, according to the mayor of Kiev.
No one was killed or injured in the assault, according to mayor Vitali Klitschko. The government had issued a drone attack alert and advised citizens to seek shelter.
The attacks come a day after Russia claimed to have shot down a wave of Ukrainian drones that were allegedly targeting Moscow, Crimea, and Black Sea vessels. For the second time in a few days, a skyscraper in Moscow's financial district was struck. In response to drone attacks across its territory that it has attributed to Kiev, Russia declared on Monday that it would step up its attacks on Ukrainian military infrastructure.
Last week, Russia attacked Kyiv with a nighttime drone attack, and all approaching drones were shot down