Russian Drone Destroys Ukraine Grain Destined For Africa

A Russian drone strike that targeted a Ukraine port on the river Danube has caused a spike in global grain prices.

At one point, the cost of wheat rose by about 5% after the attack on Izmail, close to the border with Romania.

Ukraine said the strike had damaged more than 40,000 tonnes of grain destined for countries in Africa, as well as china and Israel.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has come under pressure to return to a deal which allowed safe passage for grain shipments through the black sea.

It is feared that the attacks on ports along the Danube could further hit exports, potentially causing global food supply problems.

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No one was injured in the attack on Izmail, near the border with Romania, a key inland alternative to Black Sea ports that Russia has blocked from safe passage.

But U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said the strikes against port infrastructure in southern Ukraine in recent days showed Russia’s disregard for Ukrainian civilians.

“Russia has no desire for peace, no thought for civilian safety, and no regard for people around the world who rely on food from Ukraine,” she said in a social media posting. The attacks have all come in the last two weeks after Russia pulled out of the nearly year-old Black Sea Grain Initiative that allowed Ukrainian shipments to safely sail across the Black Sea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Black Sea grain deal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a telephone call on Wednesday, both countries confirmed. Erdogan stressed the importance of restarting the grain shipments, while Putin said he would “return to the grain deal as soon as the West fulfills its obligations.”

The Russian leader has contended that Western sanctions have inhibited Russian shipments of grains and fertilizers.