Russia Strikes School, Civilian Buildings as It Presses Ukraine Bombardment

Kremlin calls on Ukraine to resume grain shipments, despite attack on port of Odessa over the weekend 

image (not from article) from

By Vivian Salam and Evan Gershkovich, The Wall Street Journal, Updated July 25, 2022 12:46 pm ET  [original article contains photographs]

Excerpt:

Russia on Saturday launched a missile attack on Ukraine’s critical grain-exporting port of Odessa hours after signing an international agreement to ease its blockade of the Black Sea coastline and allow for the safe transport of grain and other foodstuffs necessary to alleviate a looming global food crisis. 

The strike appeared to violate the terms of the United Nations-brokered agreement signed by Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on Friday, which stipulated that both countries would refrain from attacking port facilities or civilian ships used for grain transport, according to a copy of the agreement viewed by The Wall Street Journal. 

The Kremlin said the strike targeted military infrastructure.

“This is in no way related to the infrastructure that is used to fulfill the agreements and export grain. Therefore, this cannot and should not affect the start of the shipment process,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. 

Speaking later Monday during a visit to the Republic of Congo, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “There is nothing in the obligations that Russia assumed” that would prevent it from “destroying military infrastructure.” ...

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