- Russia confirms Odesa strike, says warship was hit
- Zelenskiy: attack shows Moscow can't be trusted on deal
- Zelenskiy's advisor: shipments will suffer if strikes continue
- Moscow, Kyiv had signed grain export deal on Friday
- Accord had sought to avert major global food crisis
KYIV, July 24 (Reuters) - Ukraine pressed ahead on Sunday with efforts to restart grain exports from its Black Sea ports under a deal aimed at easing global food shortages but warned deliveries would suffer if a Russian missile strike on Odesa was a sign of more to come.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy denounced Saturday's attack as "barbarism" that showed Moscow could not be trusted to implement a deal struck just one day earlier with Turkish and United Nations mediation.
The Ukrainian military, quoted by public broadcaster Suspilne, said the Russian missiles did not hit the port's grain storage area or cause significant damage. Kyiv said preparations to resume grain shipments were ongoing.
"We continue technical preparations for the launch of exports of agricultural products from our ports," Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a Facebook post.
Russia said its forces had hit a Ukrainian warship and a weapons store in Odesa with its high-precision missiles.
The deal signed by Moscow and Kyiv on Friday was hailed as a diplomatic breakthrough that would help curb soaring global food prices by restoring Ukrainian grain shipments to pre-war levels of 5 million tonnes a month. read more
But Zelenskiy's economic advisor warned on Sunday the strike on Odesa signalled that could be out of reach.
وقال أوليه أوستنكو للتلفزيون الأوكراني إن "إضراب الأمس يشير إلى أنه بالتأكيد لن يعمل بهذه الطريقة".