Air attacks on Ukraine: Russia possibly using ballistic missiles, says Kyiv

Ukrainian Air Force said early on Tuesday (July 18) that Russia launched overnight air attacks on Ukraine's south and east using drones and possibly ballistic missiles.

On the Telegram messaging app, the Air Force said that the southern port of Odesa and the Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions were under threat of Russian drone attacks.

The air force also said that Russia may be using ballistic weaponry to attack the regions of Poltava, Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Kirovohrad.

The attack comes against the backdrop of Russia suspending its participation in the Black Sea grain export deal on Monday, just hours before it was supposed to expire. Moscow said that it will only return to the deal if its conditions are met.

The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to alleviate a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blocked because of the conflict to be exported safely.

As reported by news agencies, local authorities said that Ukraine activated its aerial defences in coastal Odesa, after Russia refused to extend a deal as precautionary measures.

Sergiy Bratchuk, who is the spokesman for the Odesa military region, said on Telegram: "Odesa. Air defence combat work continues."

The region of Odesa, which is the southern part of Ukraine, remained a crucial point ever since the war started. It is home to maritime terminals that were key to the expired grain export agreement between Moscow and Kyiv.

Oleg Kiper, who is the head of the Odesa region's military administration, said on Telegram that Russia was "attacking the south of Ukraine with attack drones".

Kiper also said air defence systems there were engaged in repelling Russian drone attacks. He claimed, "Several waves of attacks are likely" and warned residents to stay in shelters.

Watch:Ukraine war enters its most cruel stage. Here's why.

Attack on Crimea bridge

Two people from Russia's Belgorod region were killed during the "emergency" situation on the Crimean bridge on Monday. The region's governor has said on the Telegram messaging app that a mother and father died and their daughter was injured.

Russia levelled allegations on Ukraine for the attack. The claim was repeated by a Ukrainian source, who told the news AFP on Monday that the Ukrainian navy and SBU security service carried out an overnight attack.

"Today's attack on the Crimean bridge is a special operation of the SBU and the navy," the security service source said. The strike was carried out using waterborne drones, according to the same source.

(With inputs from agencies)

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