EA day after an agreement was reached to resume frozen grain supplies, the Ukrainian port Odessa According to Ukraine, it was hit by Russian rockets. “The enemy attacked the port of Odessa with Kalibr cruise missiles. Two missiles attacked the infrastructure of the port,” said Serhii Brachuk, a representative of the Odesa region, on Saturday.
Two more missiles were shot down by anti-aircraft defenses, Bradchuk added. By doing so, Russian President Vladimir Putin “spat in the face” of the UN and Turkey, the Ukrainian side said. The UN and Turkey mediated between Kiev and Moscow.
Ukrainian military spokesman Yuriy Ignat told AFP the attack was targeted. Grain processing plants was under fire. “Two missiles hit port infrastructure where there was apparently grain,” Ignat explained.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyj He accused Russia of not usually sticking to agreements. The shelling of the port in Odessa “proves one thing: whatever Russia says and promises, it will find ways not to implement it,” Zelensky said in a conversation with US lawmakers.
According to Turkey, there was no initial comment from Moscow on the incident in Odessa, which Russia denied responsibility for the rocket attack. Turkey is in contact with Ukraine and Russia, and Moscow has assured that it has nothing to do with the attack and wants to investigate the incident, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Agar said on Saturday.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbach (The Greens) strongly condemned the attack and questioned the credibility of Russian commitments. “The cowardly rocket attacks on the port of Odessa show that the Russian leadership’s signature is now being counted less,” Baerbach told Reuters news agency on Saturday.
Millions of people around the world associate Russia with it “Corncrick” Hit hard, Russia hoped to fulfill its own promises and allow grain to be transported across the Black Sea. “But this attack also shows that we must continue to work on alternatives,” the Green politician said, noting for example the export of Ukrainian grain through ports in Romania.
Just on Friday, the two sides signed an agreement in Istanbul to protect shipping lanes in the Black Sea Distribution of grain provides Terms reached during the week’s talks provide corridors for grain exports from three Ukrainian ports in the Odessa region. The belligerents agreed not to attack ships in these routes.
Among other things, the terms were to allow the export of 20 to 25 million tons of wheat stuck in Ukrainian silos as a result of the war. Russia and Ukraine are among the world’s largest grain producers. Before the Russian invasion began, together they supplied 30 percent of the world’s traded wheat.
Russian soldiers encircled the south
at Battle for the South Encircled Ukrainian forces according to their own reports More than 1000 Russian soldiers A. Far from the settlement of Vysokopilzha, the Russians A “Tactical Encirclement” President Selenskyj adviser, Oleksiy Arestovych, said on Friday evening. Arestovich’s statements could not be independently verified. There was no initial confirmation from the Russian side.
The Ukrainian army was last Several counter-attacks in Cherson area Russian soldiers were mostly under control after the war against the neighboring country began in late February. In Cherson, people have repeatedly protested against the Russian occupiers in recent months. There were also attacks against pro-Russian administrators installed by Moscow.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s task force responsible for the South, The The Russian military mines roads and riverbanks in the area. This indicates that Russia is preparing for a Ukrainian counter-offensive in these areas. At the same time, the Ukrainian military destroyed five Russian logistics bases and two ammunition depots in the Kherson region, authorities announced.
Selenksyj urgently asks for self-defense weapons
Germany has promised Ukraine weapons for months, and then delivered them very reluctantly. Now the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyj urgently asked Supply of defensive weapons It was asked to defend the country’s cities against Russian missile attacks.
Such systems have been promised by Germany and the United States, but have not yet been delivered, Zelenskyj said in an interview.Wall Street Journal” (WSJ). as Sunday World Ukraine had said it wanted eleven Air defense systems from Type Iris-T SLM From the German manufacturer Deal Defense.
Three weeks ago, Kyiv submitted an export application for these systems to the central government. However, the Chancellor is yet to respond to this request or to the request for financial assistance to purchase Iris systems. Chancellor Olaf Scholes (SPD) had already promised a short-term delivery of at least one iris system “for the coming weeks” in early June. Meanwhile, as WELT AM SONNTAG learned from Ukrainian government sources, the central government promises this only by the end of the year. The Iris-T SLM system is considered to be one of the most advanced and cost-effective air defense systems ever.
Zelenskyi told “WSJ” that providing air defense systems to the US and Europe is significantly cheaper than supporting the devastated Ukrainian economy with financial means. His reasoning: So far, more than six million people have left Ukraine, most of them for Europe. “Why is our economy not working? Because people are abroad, women and children,” Zelenskyj said. “A woman who comes back with a child goes to work when her husband is struggling. But everyone is still afraid to send their children to school because of the missiles.”
At the same time, Zelenskyy said the Western supply of multiple rocket launchers is currently too small to make a breakthrough in the war against Russia. On Friday night, the US provided four more military aid packages to Ukraine Himars type rocket launchers Adds. In total, the package is worth 270 million dollars (265 million euros) and includes 580 Phoenix Ghosts Drones and 36,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, according to the US Department of Defense.
This brings to 20 the number of Himars rocket launchers sent to Ukraine. Ukraine deploys multiple rocket launchers that can fire at targets up to 80 kilometers away, critical for combat. Drones also play an important role. Phoenix Ghosts drones are small, portable and explode on their target.
Baerbock talks about the failure of the ring exchange
While the U.S. always sends new deliveries to Ukraine, only a handful of heavy weapons have arrived from Germany so far. This applies to direct delivery and ring transfer programs offered to Eastern European countries, which deliver arms to Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Berbach has now said he is not ruling out the failure of the armor ring replacement agreed with Poland. “If this path isn’t right, we have to think about it and see how we can work elsewhere,” Baerbach told “Build” Friday evening. In wartime situations, you don’t always know what the right way is.
In the ring transfer process, Ukraine’s eastern allies must provide Soviet-designed tanks that are easier to operate. In return, Germany promised NATO partners modern equipment as replacements. However, Polish President Andrzej Duda has repeatedly accused Berlin of not fulfilling its promises.
The minister dismissed the Polish government’s accusations of breach of word and deception in the context of the tank ring exchange: “In a situation like this, no one would deceive their European neighbours.” Your fingers can transform every tank overnight. .”
Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) defended the tank ring exchange against criticism on Thursday. Filling the gaps is very important for the central government; But it cannot happen overnight. In addition to Poland, the federal government has agreed to ring exchange agreements with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Greece.
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