Russian attack on Danube ports damages some 40,000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain

A Russian drone strike targeting Ukrainian ports on the Danube River damaged nearly 40,000 tonnes of grain, Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov, said on Wednesday.

According to Kubrakov, the grain was destined for China, Israel, and several African countries. The port of Izmail bore most of the damage. Also hit was the infrastructure of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company and a marine passenger terminal.

Reuters reports that the attack has led to a surge in global grain prices.

Russia’s state agency RIA Novosti claims that the drones hit a naval ship repair yard that allegedly also repaired military ships. RIA also wrote citing a “coordinator of the Mykolaiv underground resistance” that the buildings targeted housed foreign mercenaries — “most likely Romanian ones”.

Romanian President Klaus Johannis called Russia’s attack on the civilian infrastructure on the Danube a war crime.