A Ukrainian drone attack damaged infrastructure at Russia’s Black Sea port of Taman, according to local authorities.
The strike affected port facilities and injured several people, the Southern Transport Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement on July 30. The authorities didn’t specify the extent of the damage or whether operations had been disrupted.
There was“significant damage” to a major grain export terminal, Reuters reported, citing an unidentified person familiar with the matter. The facility is controlled by Demetra, one of Russia’s largest agricultural companies.
Taman port is located on a peninsula on the Black Sea, across the Kerch Strait from Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. It’s one of Russia’s largest bulk commodity export hubs, handling shipments of grain, fertilizers, coal and petroleum products.
Ukraine has yet to comment on the attack. Demetra didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Wheat prices rose again on July 30 as Russia and Ukraine continued to target each other’s key grain export hubs. Russia said earlier that its forces had struck three dry cargo ships near Ukrainian Black Sea ports, adding to risks for exports from the breadbasket region.
Russia and Ukraine together account for more than a quarter of global wheat exports, and the attacks come as farmers are in the middle of this year’s harvest. The disruption threatens to slow shipments during the peak export season and could force buyers to source grain from other suppliers.
