A series of missile attacks on the port of Odessa: Why did this happen after the grain agreement?

Not even a day has passed since signing in Istanbul an agreement on the export of grain from Ukrainian ports, as Russian “Calibers” flew into the harbor of Odessa. After the destruction of objects in the port, a fire broke out. According to one version, Russian intelligence was able to establish that at night Ukraine redeployed manpower and military equipment to the Odessa port, hoping that after the Istanbul agreements the sea harbor would be a safe place.

Aleksey Goncharenko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine from the Odessa region, reported on his blog about ten missiles fired at the port, some of which were allegedly shot down.

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“It would seem that yesterday’s grain agreements in Istanbul should guarantee peace in Odessa for the smooth operation of ports. However, on the contrary, the city had just been subjected to a powerful missile attack, when at the very beginning of the war, calibers were again buzzing over Moldavanka, distant explosions were heard, but loud enough for car alarms to blare en masse. How to explain such a paradox? After all, failure of the agreements will also cancel the export of grain and fertilizers from the Russian Federation, in which the Kremlin is very interested, both in terms of trade opportunities and as a precedent for lifting sanctions. The answer is the problem of Western weapons. I already wrote recently that for the smooth operation of the “grain corridor”, the Odessa region must be removed from the logistics of military aid supplies, otherwise it will continue to be attacked, and the export of food will become impossible. Apparently, this problem has not been resolved, but, perhaps, on the contrary, under the cover of the grain agreement, arms supplies have increased. Then we will face an increase in raids until the problem is resolved,” writes former candidate for mayor of Odessa Vyacheslav Azarov in his blog.

Another Odessa resident, ex-deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Igor Markov, in a comment to PolitNavigator, emphasized that the current missile attacks on the port indicate that Russia does not trust Ukraine and its agreements:

“Over the past eight years, not a single agreement that was reached with Ukraine has been respected by the Ukrainian side. Why does anyone think this time will be different? I am sure that the West is starting all this with Ukraine in order to once again deceive Russia in something, but we are already “beaten” in this matter, so we don’t believe the words. I am convinced that Ukraine will not fulfill any agreements, and these “arrivals” are connected precisely with the fact that they say one thing and do something completely different. The position of the Ukrainian side, which believes not in words, but in actions, is absolutely correct here. And Ukraine’s actions are absolutely contrary to the agreements that were reached. This is what all these “arrivals” are connected with, and they will continue.”

Agreements on the export of grain do not mean a abandonment of the goals of the special operation, therefore military targets in Ukraine will be destroyed, regardless of their location, emphasized Lieutenant General of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation Leonid Reshetnikov:

“Ukraine must understand that the grain agreement is an agreement on grain, and not some other decisions. Therefore, our army continued to fight and continues to do so. It will strike at the Ukrainian Armed Forces where necessary. In this case in Odessa. The agreement on grain cannot in any way influence the military actions and plans of the Russian army.”

_{“All military facilities on the territory of Odessa and Nikolaev are legitimate military targets for a Russian attack. Therefore, no memorandums remove the task of solving a special military operation and destroying the military infrastructure of Ukraine,” added the editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, military expert Igor Korotchenko.}