Odessa, the major Black Sea port, was hit for the third night in a row.
The end of the Ukrainian cereals agreement has not finished having consequences. In response to Moscow’s decision to consider all ships circulating in the Black Sea as military, kyiv decided to take the same steps. While the fighting is concentrated in eastern Ukraine where the Ukrainian and Russian armies face each other, without significant progress, franceinfo returns to the highlights of the day.
Odessa hit for third consecutive night
At least three people died and more than twenty were injured in Russian drone and missile strikes on the Ukrainian ports of Mykolaiv and Odessaofficials said, posting images of burning or partially collapsed buildings.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Moscow launched a total of 38 missiles and drones at the two cities. “Unfortunately, it was not possible to intercept all the missiles, especially the supersonic Kh-22 and Onyx missiles, which are very difficult to destroy”, said the governor of the Odessa region. These missiles, rarely fired by Moscow, have already been used during the Russian attack on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday which targeted grain terminals and port infrastructure in Odessa and Chornomorsk, destroying some 60,000 tonnes of grain.
“A night of hell for our people!”, reacted the head of the Ukrainian service of Emergency Situations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the action of “Russian terrorists” Who “continue their attempts to destroy life”. These Russian attacks were also “firmly” condemned by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
On navigation in the Black Sea, kyiv adopts the same measure as Moscow
With the end of the Ukrainian grain agreement, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that from Thursday “all ships sailing in the waters of the Black Sea bound for Ukrainian ports will be considered as ships potentially carrying military cargo”.
Kyiv responded to Moscow by making a similar decision. “All ships sailing in the waters of the Black Sea in the direction of seaports of Russia and Ukrainian seaports located on the territory temporarily occupied by Russia may be considered by Ukraine as carrying military goods with all the associated risks”, warned the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense in a press release. It also “forbidden” from Thursday navigation in the north-eastern sector of the Black Sea and the Kerch Strait off the coast of Crimea.
Paris may grant refugee status to deserters from the Russian army
“Russians fleeing mobilization for the war in Ukraine and those mobilized who have deserted can obtain refugee status”estimated the National Court of Asylum (CNDA) in a press release, because “A Russian national called up as part of this mobilization is likely to commit, directly or indirectly, war crimes”.
This doctrine, the first in France concerning deserters from the Russian army, is based on a European directive of December 13, 2011 and a judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of February 26, 2015.