Ukrainian strike hits Russian grain export terminals at Black Sea port

Ukraine launched a drone and missile attack on Russia's Novorossiysk port on the Black Sea, damaging two major grain export terminals and hitting Russian naval vessels, according to BBC reporting. Three people, including an eight-year-old child, were killed and 24 others injured in the overnight strike. An emergency situation was declared in Novorossiysk on Wednesday after drones struck areas around the port and damaged pipelines, suspending the city's water supply.

The attack marks the latest escalation in a campaign by both Ukraine and Russia to cripple each other's grain export capacity as two of the world's largest grain producers compete for control of critical shipping infrastructure in a region vital to global food supplies.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had launched rockets, jet and naval drones in what he called a "unique operation" to strike the Russian base. Ukraine's military stated four Russian warships, including two frigates, were hit, according to BBC reporting. Regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said that several hundred drones struck locations in the surrounding Krasnodar region overnight, with dozens of buildings damaged.

A major grain trading company confirmed to Russia's TASS news agency that its terminal had been hit, while another told Reuters and Russian outlet RBK the same, per BBC reporting. The Russian agriculture ministry announced on Wednesday that it was working to redirect cargo flows to ports in the Baltic and Caspian Seas as well as land routes, citing "current logistical constraints." Russia is the world's largest wheat exporter, and according to a Moscow-based analytics company cited by BBC, exports for August could fall by more than half compared to the same month over the last five years due to disruption in the Black and Azov seas.

Moscow launched aerial overnight strikes which killed at least 11 civilians in Ukraine between Tuesday and Wednesday, with the majority killed when Russia hit the southern city of Zaporizhzhia with ballistic missiles and glide bombs, according to BBC reporting. Russia's military has not publicly commented on the Ukrainian attack on Novorossiysk.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of carrying out strikes on Russian grain and agricultural infrastructure, resulting in a hike in global food prices and growing grain shortages. She said Russia would continue striking "facilities that (Ukraine's armed forces) use on the Black Sea to destabilise the navigation situation" until "the full elimination of threats to security projected to the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea."

Together, Russia and Ukraine account for a significant share of global grain trade, particularly for buyers in North Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia. The 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative, under which Russia agreed to lift its blockade on Ukraine's agricultural exports, did not last after Moscow resumed attacks on vessels using the maritime corridors to Odesa the following year. In July, the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club reported a 23 percent decrease in exports, according to BBC reporting.