Russian strikes pummel Black sea coast

Ukraine said yesterday Russian forces had launched multiple missile strikes at targets on the Black Sea coast near the southern port city of Odessa and in Mykolaiv.

The attacks come days after Russian strikes hit the port of Odessa, calling into question a breakthrough deal to resume exports of grain from Ukraine, that have been disrupted by Moscow’s invasion.

“A massive missile attack, with the use of aircraft, was launched from the Black Sea on the south of Ukraine,” the country’s southern military command said on Facebook.

Rescuers were working on the ground near Odessa where “residential buildings” near the coast were hit in the strikes, the military said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published a video showing debris scattered around heavily damaged houses in Zatoka, a popular resort village to the west of Odessa.

“No military bases, no troops. Russian terrorists just wanted to shoot. They will be held accountable for all this,” Zelensky said in an Instagram post.

The military said that “port infrastructure” was targeted in the neighbouring Mykolaiv region, which was also hit by S-300 missile systems deployed in the Russia-controlled Kherson region, reports AFP.

Governor Vitaliy Kim posted a video of the attack on the city of Mykolaiv, showing multiple explosions and clouds of black smoke rising from the ground.

“A critical infrastructure object and a motor vehicle business were damaged,” Kim said on Telegram.

The mayor of Mikolaiv said the city’s boiler facility had been damaged.

Kyiv said on Monday it was still pushing on with preparations to restart exports and hoped to send the first ships out from one of three ports in the Odessa region this week.

Meanwhile, European Union countries yesterday approved a weakened emergency plan to curb their gas demand, after striking compromise deals to limit the cuts for some countries, as they brace for further Russian reductions in supply.

Europe faces an increased gas squeeze from today, when Russian’s Gazprom GAZP.MM has said it would cut flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany to a fifth of capacity.

With a dozen EU countries already facing reduced Russian supplies, Brussels is urging member states to save gas and store it for winter for fear Russia will completely cut off flows in retaliation for Western sanctions over its war with Ukraine.

Energy ministers approved a proposal for all EU countries to voluntarily cut gas use by 15 percent from August to March, reports Reuters.

The cuts could be made binding in a supply emergency, but countries agreed to exempt numerous countries and industries, after some governments had resisted the EU’s original proposal to impose a binding 15 percent cut on every country.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the agreement would show Russian President Vladimir Putin that Europe remained united in the face of Moscow’s latest gas cuts. “You will not split us,” Habeck said.

Hungary was the only country that opposed the deal, two EU officials said.