Russia has claimed responsibility for a series of missile strikes that hit the key Ukrainian port of Odessa, a day after Moscow signed a deal allowing Kyiv to resume grain exports as part of efforts to alleviate a growing global food crisis.

Two cruise missiles hit the port on Saturday and two more were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, according to Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesman for Ukraine’s Southern Military Command.

Videos posted on social media showed a plume of smoke billowing from the port. Oleksiy Honcharenko, a Ukrainian MP, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that at least six explosions were heard and an unknown number of people were injured.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Sunday the missiles “destroyed a military infrastructure target” in the port in a “high-precision strike” that sank a Ukrainian military vessel.

The strikes came less than 24 hours after Russia’s defense minister signed a UN-brokered deal with Turkey agreeing to let Kyiv export millions of tonnes of grain from its Black Sea ports.

Ukraine said the rocket attack violated Russia’s promise not to attack grain export infrastructure and questioned the viability of Friday’s deal.

The Russian Navy has blocked Ukraine’s commercial sea routes, launched missile strikes on its ports and grain storage infrastructure, and attacked civilian grain ships since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion in large scale of Ukraine at the end of February.

Oleg Nikolenko, spokesman for Ukraine’s foreign ministry, said Russia “will take full responsibility for the worsening global food crisis” if it fails to honor its promises not to attack the port. He accused Putin of “spitting[ting] facing” UN Secretary General António Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who mediated the talks.

“Yesterday the export of grain by sea was agreed, and today the Russians are hitting the port of Odessa. This is the Russian diplomatic dichotomy,” Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s administration, wrote on Twitter.

Zelenskyy told a visiting US congressional delegation that the attack “proves only one thing: no matter what Russia says and promises, it will find ways not to carry it out,” according to its website.

In a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia of “starving Ukraine of its economic vitality and the world of its food supply”.

“This attack casts serious doubt on the credibility of Russia’s commitment to yesterday’s deal and undermines the work of the UN, Turkey and Ukraine to get essential food to markets. world,” he said.

The grain deal, which Guterres hailed as a “ray of hope”, was the first major deal reached between the two sides in the five-month conflict.

The blockade has snuffed out a crucial economic lifeline for Ukraine and left an estimated 22 million tonnes of wheat, corn and other grains stranded in silos, with devastating effects on world food prices and levels. of poverty.

According to the World Food Programme, as many as 47 million people, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, are at risk of acute hunger as a result of the conflict.

Guterres’ office said in a statement that it “unequivocally condemns” the strikes, without directly blaming Russia.

“Yesterday, all parties made clear commitments on the world stage to ensure the safe flow of Ukrainian grain and related products to world markets,” the statement said.

“These products are desperately needed to tackle the global food crisis and alleviate the suffering of millions of people in need around the world. Full implementation by the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Turkey is imperative.

Hulusi Akar, Turkish Defense Minister, said his Ukrainian counterpart had informed him that a Russian missile had hit a grain silo in the port, but cargo loading facilities were not affected and that activities at the port continued. He also said Russian officials denied him having anything to do with the attack.

“The fact that this incident took place just after the agreement we reached yesterday regarding the shipment of grain has really worried us and troubled us. However, we continue to fulfill our responsibilities in the deal,” Akar told state-run Anadolu news agency.

Akar added that Russian, Ukrainian and UN representatives had already started working together at a joint coordination center in Turkey and he remained hopeful that grain shipments would begin soon.

Billionaire oligarch Roman Abramovich, who sold Chelsea football club in May after the UK and EU slapped him with sanctions, attended the signing ceremony and played a key role in the agreement, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Abramovich helped facilitate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine with Putin’s blessing before they collapsed in April.

He traveled to Kyiv several times, where he met Zelenskyy, and has since played a role in brokering prisoner swaps and opening escape routes for civilians, according to people familiar with the matter. .

“He was the key to everything. He’s one of the only people close to Putin that Ukrainians talk to,” one of the people said. A Ukrainian official said Abramovich’s role has grown since peace talks broke down in the spring.

“One way or another, he is part of the circle dealing with sensitive issues between Ukraine and Russia,” the official said. “He is on the list of trusted people who can participate in all discussions.”

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, denied that Abramovich played a crucial role in the talks.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, officials in the port city of Mykolaiv said they were hit by six Russian projectiles on Saturday. None of them touched the port infrastructure and its facilities are not part of the agreement that was negotiated in Turkey.

The Kremlin, the Turkish Foreign Ministry and a spokesman for Abramovich did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Additional reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley and Felicia Schwartz