Russia says Odessa strikes hit Western arms

KYIV, Ukraine: Russia said on Sunday that its missile barrage on a Ukrainian port central to a landmark grain export deal had destroyed Western-supplied weapons, after the attack sparked an outcry from Ukraine´s allies.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was embarking on a tour of several countries in Africa and on his first stop in Egypt sought to reassure his counterpart Sameh Shoukry that Russian grain supplies would continue.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced on Saturday´s strike on the Odessa port as “Russian barbarism,” coming just one day after the warring sides struck a deal to release exports from the facility.

Turkey helped broker the accord and said immediately after the double cruise missile hits that it had received assurances from Moscow that Russian forces were not responsible.

But Russia´s defence ministry rolled back on the denial on Sunday, saying the strikes had destroyed a Ukrainian military vessel and arms delivered by Washington.

“High-precision, long-range missiles launched from the sea destroyed a docked Ukrainian warship and a stockpile of anti-ship missiles delivered by the United States to the Kyiv regime,” it said.

“A Ukrainian army repair and upgrade plant has also been put out of order.”

The strikes have cast a shadow over the milestone accord -- that was hammered out over months of negotiations and signed in Istanbul -- to relieve a global food crisis.

Cereal prices in Africa -- the world´s poorest continent where food supplies are critically tight -- surged because of an exports slump.

Lavrov, who will visit Uganda, Ethiopia and Congo-Brazzaville on the tour, told Shoukry that Russia would meet grain orders.

“We confirmed the commitment of Russian exporters of cereal products to meet their orders in full,” he said in a press conference.

Zelensky said the strikes on Odessa showed Moscow could not be trusted to keep its promises and that dialogue with Moscow was becoming increasingly untenable.

Under the deal brokered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, Odessa is one of three designated export hubs.

Ukrainian officials said grain was being stored in the port at the time of the strike, but food stocks did not appear to have been hit.

Guterres, who presided over the signing ceremony Friday, “unequivocally” condemned the attack. The United States meanwhile said it “casts serious doubt” over Russia´s commitment to the deal.

There was no response from Moscow until Sunday, but Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said before that Russia had denied carrying out the attack.