The Russian Ministry of Defense confirms that it destroyed Harpoon anti-ship missiles hidden in the port of Odesa by the Ukrainians. The strike by Naval forces last Saturday revealed the target to be a military structure where the delivered arms were hidden.
Kyiv Denies Strike
According to the Defense Ministry, seaborne high-precision long-range missiles struck an Odesa seaport on Sunday, in a shipyard where a Ukrainian warship and a warehouse where the US-supplied weapons were stored, reported RT.
Based on the statement, the strike also heavily damaged a facility where Ukrainian navy ships are repaired.
The attack on the target, a significant commercial hub in the southwest of Ukraine, came one day after an UN-mediated agreement to reopen grain exports from Ukrainian ports was signed, noted Good Word News.
This strike on the target in Odesa, a major trade hub in Ukraine, came a day after the signing of an UN-brokered deal to unblock grain exports from Ukrainian ports.
On February 24, Moscow stated that it had targeted Ukrainian military forces and infrastructure, specifically HIMARS and western-supplied artillery, as well as civilians as shields in heinous strategies.
Ukrainian officials say that the port of Odessa attack was struck by cruise missiles hitting grain silos which are Harpoon anti-ship missiles, which Moscow disputes. They claim two missiles were intercepted, but two got through, claiming minimal damage.
Volodymyr Zelensky claims it was a barbaric attack using Kalibr missiles that would destroy any chance of an agreement with Moscow. But the Russian Ministry of Defense declared before that it was the White House pulling the strings in Kyiv.
According to his spokesman, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "unquestionably criticizes" the assault on Odessa's port.
A global food insecurity crisis makes the deal critical to alleviating the problem that affects many people worldwide who need the agreement to distribute it. According to the UN official, the three parties must follow through on the contract.
The Russia-Ukraine agreement reached on Friday with the help of Turkey and the UN as mediators lays out a plan to restart Ukrainian grain shipments via the Black Sea ports, which were halted by the fighting, citing France 24.
A pact between Russia and the UN was also signed, allowing the UN to help eliminate restrictions on the shipment of Russian food and fertilizer to other markets.
US To Continue MLRS Shipments
According to a senior US lawmaker, Washington and its allies aim to give Kyiv up to 30 multiple-launch missile systems.
The head of the US House of Representatives Armed Forces Committee, Adam Smith, announced on Saturday that the US and its Western allies planned to give Ukraine an extra 25 to 30 rocket systems.
Smith remarked after visiting last week with several other members of Congress and meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
According to Zelensky's chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, the logistics of transporting ammo for the Western MLRS is critical for the launchers' efficient usage on numerous sectors of the front.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claims it did not strike a civilian facility but rather a depot of Harpoon anti-ship missiles hidden in the Port of Odessa. Warships fired precision Kalibr cruise missiles, striking foreign arms as promised and giving Kyiv a blackeye.
