Moscow attempted to destroy a civilian cargo ship in the Black Sea in August

This Monday, Britain accused Russian forces of attempting to destroy a Liberian-flagged civilian cargo ship moored at the port of Odessa in southeastern Ukraine in late August with multiple missile strikes.

“[Os serviços de inteligência] shows that on August 24, the Russian army attacked a cargo ship in the Black Sea using multiple missiles,” the British Foreign Office said in a statement.

These Kalibr missiles, fired from a Russian warship at sea, “were successfully shot down by Ukrainian forces,” the British government adds, adding that the target was “a Liberian-flagged cargo ship moored in the port” of Odessa.

“Despite the failure, this attack is a clear demonstration of Russia’s repeated attempts to strangle the Ukrainian economy and disrespect [Presidente russo Vladimir] Putin for the lives of civilians and the interests of the countries of Africa, Asia and the Middle East,” British diplomacy also emphasized.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverley also stressed, as quoted in the press release, that the attacks “show how desperate [Vladimir Putin] This”.

Russia announced in July that it was withdrawing from a Turkish-led agreement to export Ukrainian grains via the Black Sea in the summer of 2022 because it believes Western sanctions are complicating its own exports of grains, agricultural products and fertilizers.

Because ending the agreement was seen as vital to the global food supply, Moscow promised to deliver free grain to six African countries in early September.

But according to London, Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and ports have destroyed “280,000 tons” of grain since July, “more than Russia promised to give to African countries.”

Since this summer, the number of attacks in the Black Sea has increased on both sides, with Russia in particular increasing its bombing of Ukraine’s transport infrastructure.

According to the British magazine The Economist, before the war, Ukraine and Russia together supplied 28% of the world’s wheat, 29% of barley, 15% of corn and 75% of sunflower oil.

According to the UN, over the year the Black Sea initiative allowed about 33 million tons of grain and other food products to leave three Ukrainian ports for 45 countries.