– Russia Informs Turkey It Had “Nothing To Do” With Odessa Port Attack:
Update(1524ET): While the White House and European allies, along with the Ukrainian government, were lock-step in condemning as outrageous a series of reported Russian airstrikes on the port of Odesa the morning after the grain export deal was signed in Istanbul, the Kremlin is apparently denying it was behind the attack:
Turkey’s defense minister said on Saturday that Russian officials had told Ankara that Moscow had “nothing to do” with strikes on Ukraine’s Odesa port.
“In our contact with Russia, the Russians told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with this attack and that they were examining the issue very closely and in detail,” Defence Minister Hulusai Akar said in a statement.
“The fact that such an incident took place right after the agreement we made yesterday really worried us,” he added.
Ukraine for its part, has said it is still preparing agricultural exports despite the threat of more strikes. Key infrastructure at Odesa port was not damaged, according to local officials.
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