KYIV, 24 July 2022, (TON): Russian missiles hit infrastructure in Odesa in southern Ukraine on Saturday, the Ukrainian military said “dealing a blow to a landmark deal signed just the day before to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war.”

The deal signed on Friday by Moscow and Kyiv and mediated by the United Nations and Turkey was hailed as a breakthough after nearly five months of punishing fighting since Russia invaded its neighbor.

It is seen as crucial to curbing soaring global food prices by allowing grain exports to be shipped from Black Sea ports including Odesa.

UN officials had said “they hoped the agreement would be operational in a few weeks but it was not yet clear if that would still be possible given Saturday’s strikes.”