INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russian strikes hit the Ukrainian port of Odesa for a third consecutive night since Moscow pulled out of a grain export deal, officials said
Thursday, as Crimean authorities said a teenager had died in Kyiv's latest attack on the peninsula.At least 20 people were wounded following
strikes on Odesa and the southern port city of Mykolaiv, local officials said, posting images showing buildings in flames with facades
partially destroyed.An "administrative building" in Odesa's city center was destroyed and others damaged, according to a spokeswoman for
60,000 tons of grain meant for export, Kyiv said on Wednesday, with President Volodymyr Zelensky accusing Moscow of "deliberately" targeting
the supplies.Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year saw Black Sea ports blocked by warships until the gain agreement, brokered by the United
Nations and Turkey in July 2022.The Kremlin said on Monday it was exiting the deal, after months of complaining that the parts that had
allowed the export of Russian food and fertilizers had not been honored.The deal enabled the export of more than 32 million tons of
Ukrainian grain over the last year, bringing relief to countries facing critical food shortages such as Afghanistan, Sudan and Yemen.Wheat
prices soared on the European stock exchange on Wednesday.Also Wednesday Moscow said it would consider cargo ships traveling to Ukraine
additional sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports," he said."We believe that this is a coordinated effort to justify any attacks
against civilian ships in the Black Sea and lay blame on Ukraine for these attacks."Attack in CrimeaIn Crimea, a drone strike launched by
appeared to be the latest attack by Kyiv on the key supply artery for Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.It came a day after a fire at a
military site in Crimea forced authorities to evacuate thousands of civilians.Officials have not specified the cause of the blaze, but some
Russian media reported that detonations were heard in the area and footage showed columns of black smoke in the sky.Earlier this week
the daily strikes in Odesa, Russian President Vladimir Putin "is robbing the world of any hope of Ukrainian grain," German Foreign Minister
Annalena Baerbock said on Twitter.Ukraine said it was prepared to continue grain exports despite the end of the deal and called on other
countries to help.Meanwhile, Ukraine's European neighbors urged the EU to extend a grain import ban until the end of the year, amid fears
local farmers would be undercut by diverted Ukrainian supplies.In June, Brussels agreed to allow Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and
Romania to restrict imports of grain from Ukraine through September.On the front, fighting is concentrated in eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv's
said it had advanced one kilometer (less than one mile) along the frontline in Ukraine's northeastern region of Kharkiv.Ukraine is expected
to receive more military support in the conflict with the United States announcing a new $1.3 billion aid package featuring air defense
systems, anti-tank missiles, drones and other equipment.
