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Russia strikes port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region, injuring 6: officials

13.09.2023 10:30
Russia has launched a massive drone attack on the port infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, damaging port facilities and injuring at least six civilians, authorities have said.
Photo:
Photo:Spiridon Ion Cepleanu, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The attack was carried out using the Shahed barrage munitions in the early hours of Wednesday, the RBC-Ukraine news agency reported.

Russia mainly targeted ports and other civilian infrastructure on the Danube river, according to officials. 

"Unfortunately, non-residential buildings were damaged by direct hits on the port infrastructure, causing a fire in the parking area for cargo trucks. The fire was promptly extinguished,” Ukraine’s military authorities said. 

"Seven civilian drivers have been transported to a medical facility with injuries of varying degrees of severity," officials added.

Later in the day, Oleh Kiper, the head of the military administration of the Odesa region, said that as a result of the Russian attack in the Izmail district, there was damage to the grain-exporting port and other civilian infrastructure, with six people reported injured, RBC-Ukraine reported.

Three of the injured civilians were in serious condition, The Kyiv Independent website reported

In all, Ukrainian air defences brought down 32 out of 44 Shahed attack drones launched by Russia overnight into Wednesday, mainly against ports in the Odesa province, as well as the northeastern Sumy region, Ukraine’s Air Force said.  

The port of Izmail on the Danube river, which borders NATO member Romania, has become the main export route for Ukrainian products after Russia quit the United Nations-backed Black Sea Grain Initiative in July, Britain’s The Guardian newspaper reported.

After leaving the Black Sea grain deal, Russia began a series of strikes on Ukraine’s infrastructure and ports on the Black Sea and the Danube, notably Izmail, which are vital for agriculture exports, according to news outlets.

Wednesday is day 567 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. 

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.

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Source: PAP, The Kyiv Independent, RBC-Ukraine, The Guardian