News of Russian drones entering the Danube River region, and air defense heard gunfire near the ports of Izmail and Reni: reports
The Ukrainian Air Force said that a wave of Russian military aircraft entered the mouth of the Danube River and headed towards the country’s Izmail River port near the border with Romania.
Social media groups monitoring the war reported hearing the firing of air defense systems in the area near the Danube ports of Izmail and Rene early Wednesday morning.
The governor of the southern Odessa region, Ole Kepper, asked residents of the Ishmael region to take shelter around 1:30 a.m. (22:30 GMT Tuesday) and lifted the air raid alert one hour later.
Ukraine’s Danube river ports accounted for about a quarter of Ukraine’s total grain exports before Russia recently pulled out of a deal allowing safe passage for Ukrainian grain exports through the country’s Black Sea ports.
The Danube ports are now the main export route, with grain shipments sent on boats from Ukraine up the Danube to Romania and the Black Sea port of Constanta for later shipment.
A Russian attack on Port Ismail in early August sent global food prices soaring.
The attack by Russian drones on the Ukrainian port of Izmail earlier this month was so severe that it smashed windows in Romanian villages across the Danube, according to an Al Jazeera correspondent.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that air defense systems had destroyed three Ukrainian drones early on over the country’s Kaluga region.
The ministry added that there were no casualties or damage in the attempted attack, which took place around 5 am Moscow time (0200 GMT).
Kaluga region is located southwest of Moscow.
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