(Bloomberg) -- Russia hit a grain ship with a missile immediately after it left Ukrainian waters on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram.
While Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s grain-export infrastructure including in the Black Sea and on the Danube, it appears to be the first time since the 2022 invasion that a ship with grain from Ukraine has been hit while in neutral waters. The vessel was carrying wheat for Egypt, Zelenskiy said. There are no casualties reported so far.
Ukraine is a major grain exporter, with agricultural commodities earning vital revenues for Kyiv. Its export volumes have remained resilient despite Russian missile damage to its river and sea infrastructure, but the attacks have pushed traders to use more expensive trade routes.
“Wheat and food security must never be a target for missiles,” Zelenskiy said. “We are expecting the world’s reaction.”
Maritime security firm Ambrey Analytics said that a Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged bulk carrier had been damaged by a Russian missile attack, but had managed to sail to Romania under its own power.
A Louis Dreyfus Company grain facility in Odesa was hit by a missile last month, while earlier this year a missile assault on the railway infrastructure near the port of Chornomorsk halted crucial deliveries.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X that Ukraine would “immediately notify the United Nations and inform the International Maritime Organization of this crime.”
Wheat futures in Chicago edged higher after the attack, trading as much as 2.2% up on the day, before paring gains.
--With assistance from Alex Longley, Daryna Krasnolutska and Celia Bergin.
(Updates with details throughout)
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