Ukraine intercepts 6 cruise missiles, 25 drones, military says

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The Ukrainian military says that Russia fired six cruise missiles at the port city of Odessa and that though all six were destroyed, falling debris damaged buildings. Photo Courtesy of Ukrainian Southern Operational Command
July 18 (UPI) — The Russian military launched six cruise missiles at Odessa, which is on Ukraine’s southern coast with the Black Sea, Tuesday. The Ukrainian military said they shot down six of the incoming cruise missiles along with 25 Shahed 136 drones. “Several waves of impact drones were aimed at identifying and exhausting anti-aircraft defense forces. And then six ‘Calibers’ were released from the Black Sea aquatoria across Odessa,” Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command said in a Facebook post. Advertisement
“All the missiles were destroyed by the anti-aircraft defense forces. Unfortunately, the fragments of hit rockets and the explosive wave from the hit damaged port infrastructure facilities, several private homes. An elderly man was injured in his own house, he is hospitalized,” the Southern Command said.
The Southern Command also says 21 Iranian-made Russian Shahed-136 drones were destroyed over Odessa, while four were destroyed over Mykolaiv. The Southern Command also said an industrial facility in Mykolaiv caught fire but that firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze.
Odessa is a crucial port for Ukraine because it is the main exit point for Ukrainian agricultural exports via the Black Sea.
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Last year, the Ukrainian and Russian governments agreed to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allows Ukrainian and Russian ships to export agricultural products via the Black Sea with Turkey acting as guarantor, inspecting ships as they transit.
The strikes come one day after a segment of the Kerch bridge, which connects Russian-occupied Crimea to mainland Russia, was damaged in an explosion, killing two people and injuring a child, according to Russian authorities.
The Russian National Antiterrorism Committee says the attack was carried out by a pair of Ukrainian naval drones.
After the attack, Russian authorities said they would not renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was set to expire Monday.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the move.
“Today’s decision by the Russian Federation will strike a blow to people in need everywhere,” Guterres told reporters.