A day after grain deal, Russian missiles strike Odessa port

Ukrainian rescuers work outside a house destroyed following a Russian airstrike in a village in the Odessa region. Credit: AFP Photo

Russian missiles on Saturday struck Ukraine's Odessa port, key to the grain deal signed on Friday.

Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul on Friday to free more than 20 million metric tons of grain stuck in blockaded Black Sea ports in Ukraine, a deal aimed at bringing down soaring grain prices and alleviating a mounting global hunger crisis.

The deal makes provisions from attacksRussia stri for the safe passage of ships.

The plan, known as the “Black Sea Initiative,” would open a path for significant volumes of commercial food exports from three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea: Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny."

(With agency inputs)