Live: Kyiv prepares to resume grain exports in wake of Russian strike
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Issued on: 24/07/2022 – 08:08
Ukraine continued preparations on Sunday for the reopening of Black Sea ports to resume grain exports, according to Ukraine’s infrastructure minister. This comes one day after a Russian missile strike targeted the port of Odesa. Kyiv stated the attack left several people injured. Read about the day’s events as they unfold on our live blog. All times are Paris time (GMT+2)
7:08am: Ukraine prepares to resume grain exports
Ukraine continues to prepare for the reopening of its Black Sea ports to resume grain exports on Sunday, a day after a Russian strike on Odesa.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the “barbaric” attacks, which he said cast doubt on whether Friday’s Turkey-UN-brokered agreement to resume Ukrainian grain exports would be respected.
6:54am: Pyongyang accuses Washington of waging biological warfare in Ukraine
North Korea accused the United States on Sunday of manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine, echoing a Russian claim dismissed by the United Nations in March. Moscow ally Pyongyang in February said US policy was the “root cause of the Ukraine crisis”, and this month formally recognised two self-proclaimed pro-Russian separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, prompting Kyiv to cut diplomatic ties with North Korea.
Washington “set up many biological labs in tens of countries and regions, including Ukraine, in disregard of the international treaties”, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Sunday, citing what it said had been “detected” by Russia. Moscow in March accused Washington of funding research into the development of biological weapons in Ukraine, which has invaded by Russia nearly five months ago.
Washington and Kyiv denied the existence of laboratories intended to produce biological weapons in Ukraine, with the United States saying the allegations were a sign that Moscow may use such tactics itself. Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General of Disarmament Affairs, also said in March that the UN “was not aware of any biological weapons program in Ukraine”.
5:50am: Governor says several injured in strikes on Ukrainian port of Odesa
Russian missile strikes on Saturday on the port of the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, widely condemned by Kyiv’s Western allies, left several people injured, the region’s governor said, without specifying how many.
“Unfortunately, some people are injured and the port infrastructure is damaged,” Maksym Martchenko said in a video message posted on social media.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP)