Putin wants to sell stolen Ukrainian grain: intelligence on attacks on ports

Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, told this at the Military Media Centre.

Yusov says that almost every day the enemy is shelling the seaports of Odesa and the region to destroy Ukrainian port infrastructure, food supplies and prevent the grain corridor from resuming its work in the future.

"Thus, Putin is publicly stating that the aggressor state is tasked with working directly with African and Asian countries to supply grain, including stolen Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied territories," Yusov explains.

Moscow also wants to intimidate the civilian population of Ukraine with massive attacks, but the enemy is not succeeding, the intelligence officer admits.

"It is very important that the world gives a correct assessment of this, and Ukraine is working on this, as well as working to counter such attacks," Yusov added.

Missile attack on Odesa

On the night of July 23, the Russian army attacked Odesa with at least 5 types of missiles. As of the morning, one person was killed and 22 others were injured in the attack. It was the fifth consecutive nighttime massive missile attack on Odesa and Odesa region in the last six days.

Later, the Operational Command South stated that during the missile attack at night, the enemy hit Odesa region with at least 5 types of missiles of all types of basing: "Kalibr", " Oniks", Kh-22 and "Iskander-K", and also used ballistic "Iskander-M".

The Russians destroyed port infrastructure, at least 6 residential buildings, including apartment buildings. Dozens of cars were damaged, facades and roofs of many buildings in the city were damaged, and windows were smashed. Two architectural monuments were damaged.

During the attack, Russians also destroyed the Transfiguration Cathedral, the largest Orthodox church in Odesa, and the House of Scientists. In addition to significant damage to the building, Orthodox shrines were damaged: the Kasperovska Icon of the Mother of God, the patron saint of Odesa, was pulled from the rubble.

On the night of July 23, air defense units in Odesa region destroyed 9 out of 19 enemy air targets - 4 Kalibr sea-launched cruise missiles and 5 Iskander-K land-based cruise missiles.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to the Russian shelling of Odesa and noted that the enemy would definitely be responsible for this crime. And Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on all states and organizations to "condemn this barbaric war crime."

Later, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said that Russia was trying to completely isolate Ukraine's access to the Black Sea. 

The President's Office also responded to the Russian missile attack on Odesa. They explained what Russia really wants by attacking historical city centers and how the world should respond to Russian crimes.

According to Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv and All Ukraine, the destruction of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa is another manifestation of the satanic evil of the Russian world.

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the alleged cause of the destruction of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa on the night of July 23 was the fall of a Ukrainian air defense missile. The Center for Countering Disinformation denied the fake.

In the evening, Zelenskyy said that the Russians had also damaged the Greek consular building during the attack. 

After that, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) expressed "deep concern" and condemned Russia's missile attack on cultural sites in Odesa. They also emphasized that in the coming days the organization will send a mission to the city to conduct a preliminary assessment of the damage. And United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Russia to immediately stop its attacks on Ukrainians and cultural sites.