World food prices to spike as Russian drones hit major Ukraine grain stores

In the latest attack on Ukranian facilities, Russian drones struck major grain stores on an inland port in Izmail on the River Danube near the Romanian border Wednesday — causing global food prices to surge.

After the drone attack, a passenger building and machinery used for grain loading have been damaged as the video shows large flames coming out from the scene.

According to the Ukrainian defence ministry, a grain silo was damaged in the Danube port of Izmail in the Odesa region.

"Ukrainian grain has the potential to feed millions of people worldwide," the ministry wrote on formerly known Twitter.

The Russian attack on Ukrainian port facilities comes after it backed off from a UN-mediated gran deal that allowed both countries to export safely across the Black Sea.

The attack was condemned by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis deplored Russian assaults on Ukraine "in the proximity of Romania" as unacceptable.

Ukraine's air force said during the night that Russian drones were heading for the Danube River, where Ukraine has two ports, Izmail and Reni. Ukraine's military command in the south said air defences had been operating for almost three hours.

“Emergency services were working on the site of the latest Russian attack, and there were no reports of any casualties,” Odesa regional leader Oleh Kiper said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that "unfortunately there has been damage" — and the regional chief posted several images on social media showing damage.

Ukraine's defence ministry said an elevator had been hit — and officials said the Izmail district prosecutor had launched an investigation into a cargo terminal, a warehouse, and an elevator that was all damaged.

President Iohannis said Wednesday that the attacks so close to Romania were war crimes that further affected Ukraine's "capacity to transfer their food products towards those in need in the world".

Earlier, Russia launched strikes on the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk, where authorities noted that 60,000 tonnes of grain were destroyed.

Local officials in Ukraine also said that Russia also launched more than 10 drones against Ukraine's capital Kyiv overnight.

The officials noted that the drones were downed by anti-aircraft systems, adding that several non-residential buildings were damaged by falling debris.