Ukraine’s Air Force said on Wednesday that a large group of Russian drones entered the mouth of the Danube River and headed towards the port of the Izmail River, near the border with NATO member Romania.
In several Telegram posts, the Ukrainian Air Force said that Iranian-made drones operated by Russian forces entered the mouth of the Danube River.
Groups on social media reported hearing air defense systems being fired in the area near the two Danube ports: Ishmael and Rene.
Ole Kepper, governor of the southwestern region of Odessa where the ports are located, directed residents in Izmail to take shelter around 1:30 am local time (2230 UTC).
An hour after the initial message, Kiper canceled the air raid alert.
Ukraine’s Danube ports once accounted for a quarter of its grain exports before Russia withdrew from a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.
Moscow went on to warn that it would treat any ships in parts of the Black Sea as hostile and blow them up. Since the deal was broken, Russia has bombed many of Ukraine’s grain reserves.
A Russian attack on Port Ismail earlier this month sent global food prices soaring.
Ukraine exports grain to many developing countries including those in Africa, which are likely to suffer from unresolved food shortages.
mk/rs (Reuters, dpa, afb, afb)