BERLIN, Germany, July 19 – Germany and France on Wednesday condemned Russian strikes on the Ukrainian port of Odesa, saying they were deliberately targeting grain and would affect the world’s poorest people.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “is robbing the world of any hope of Ukrainian grain”, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock tweeted on Wednesday. “Each of his bombs is also hitting the world’s poorest.”
The French foreign ministry said that Russia was “once again taking an irresponsible risk with food security” with the strikes, which Ukraine says has resulted in the destruction of 60,000 tonnes of grain at export terminals.
“These strikes which deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure, notably grain stocks, constitute war crimes,” the ministry said in a statement.
On Monday, Russia refused to extend a deal brokered by the UN and Turkey to allow safe passage for grain cargo ships from Ukrainian Black Sea ports.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that Vladimir Putin had “decided to weaponise food, and I think this is a huge mistake.”
Russia targeted Odesa with air strikes for the second night in a row overnight, with the Russian defence ministry claiming to have struck fuel and ammunition facilities near the Black Sea port.
