After initially denying it, Russia has belatedly confirmed that its missiles struck the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa on Saturday, resulting in UN condemnation, and the US and its allies expressing outrage.
But while the Ukrainian government said Russia's military targeted grain infrastructure in an attempt to thwart the Istanbul grain export deal it just signed under UN auspices, the new Russian Foreign Ministry admission identified that a Ukrainian warship with US-supplied missiles aboard was the target.
"In the seaport of Odessa, on the territory of a shipyard, a docked Ukrainian warship and a warehouse of Harpoon anti-ship missiles, supplied by the US to the Kiev regime, have been destroyed by sea-based high-precision long-range missiles," the ministry said Sunday.
Kremlin spokesperson Maria Zakharova also noted on her Telegram account that "Kalibr missiles destroyed military infrastructure in the port of Odessa, with a high-precision strike."
Ukraine had alleged four cruise missiles were launched, two of which it said anti-air defenses had intercepted. Late in the day Saturday US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a blistering statement, saying, "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 critical food to world markets."
He added: "Russia bears responsibility for deepening the global food crisis and must stop its aggression and fully implement the deal to which it has agreed."
As for the fresh Russian claims of destroying a warship with US-supplied Harpoon missiles on board, the Ukrainian side hasn't acknowledged this and is unexpected to - just as with prior Russian defense ministry claims this past week that four US-supplied HIMARS long-range missile systems were destroyed.
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