Von der Leyen: Attacks on Ukrainian ports, deliberate destruction of grain “war crime”

Systematic attacks by Russia against civilian infrastructure facilities and ports of Ukraine and the destruction of grain stocks bound for the most vulnerable countries constitute a war crime for which Russia will be held accountable.

That’s according to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who addressed the issue on X (formerly known as Twitter), reacting to the latest Russian strike targeting the port of Izmail.

“I strongly condemn the Russian drone attack on the port of Izmail in Ukraine. Russia is intentionally and systemically targeting civilian infrastructure and destroying tons of grain meant to feed the world. These and other attacks against civilians are war crimes Russia will be held accountable for,” von der Leyen wrote.

As reported, as a result of an attack by enemy drones on the night of August 23, production and transshipment complexes were hit and grain storage facilities were damaged in Odesa region.

Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration - Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, said several private grain terminals and warehouses, whose cargo was intended for Egypt and Romania, were damaged. 13,000 tonnes of grain were destroyed in the port of Izmail. In Kubrakov’s words, this night alone, the export capacity of the port of Izmail was reduced by 15%. This is the eighth attack on port infrastructure since Russia withdrew from the grain initiative, the deputy prime minister said. In total, 270,000 tonnes of grain have been destroyed in a month of attacks on ports.