Ukraine war: Russia pounds port, silos in Odesa again; drone debris found in Kyiv

Russian drone strikes on the Ukrainian city of Odesa continued, damaging the port infrastructure including grain silos, the regional Governor Oleg Kiper said on Wednesday (Aug 2).

"The enemy's obvious target was the port and industrial infrastructure of the region. Air defence forces worked non-stop for almost 3 hours,"said Oleg on Telegram, adding that emergency services had responded to the scene and that there were no reports of casualties.

“As a result of the attack, fires broke out at the facilities of the port and industrial infrastructure of the region, and an elevator was damaged."

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According to senior Ukrainian officials, over the past fortnight, Russia has damageddozens of port infrastructure facilities and multiple civilian vessels. Last month, a Chinese consulate in the portcity was also damaged by the Russian strikes.

Apart from the port city, the capital Kyiv was also attacked by Russian drones in the early hours of Wednesday. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said drone debris had fallen in the centralSolomianskyi district and that a non-residential building had been damaged.

"Groups of drones entered Kyiv simultaneously from several directions. However, all air targets -- more than 10 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) -- were detected and destroyed in time by the forces and means of air defence," saidSergiy Popko, head of the city's military administration, adding that Russia used a barrage of Iranian-made Shahed drones.

The attacks come a day after Russia said it had thwarted a wave of Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow, Crimea and vessels in the Black Sea. A skyscraper in the city's financial district was struck for the second time in days.

Watch: Ukrainian president aide admits counteroffensive will take long

Russia has upped the ante

Ever since Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal earlier this month, attacks have intensified on Ukrainian cities.

The deal granted safe passage to Ukrainian cargo ships carrying grain shipments. However, since the cancellation, Russia has said it was keeping a close tab on the Ukrainian vessels and would consider them aspotential military targets.

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

(With inputs from agencies)

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