Key facts
- Russia attacked Ukraine's Danube grain shipment port of Izmail, damaging infrastructure and causing a fire.
- The attack occurred after Ukraine struck Russia's Novorossiysk grain hub.
- Romania scrambled fighter jets after detecting an aerial target in its airspace.
- A separate Russian drone strike killed two individuals on a passenger train in the Odesa region.
- President Zelenskiy requested a portion of US Patriot missile stockpiles to defend against ballistic missiles.
Russia launched an overnight attack on Ukraine's largest Danube grain shipment port, Izmail, causing damage to infrastructure and igniting a fire, authorities reported on Thursday. The strike on the port, located in the Odesa region near the Romanian border, occurred a day after Ukraine targeted Russia's Novorossiysk, a significant grain hub.
Romania's defense ministry confirmed scrambling fighter jets after an aerial target spent approximately 10 minutes in its national airspace before heading back to Ukraine. In a separate incident in the Odesa region, a Russian drone struck a passenger train, resulting in the deaths of the driver and his assistant, according to the CEO of Ukrainian Railways.
Amidst these escalating attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reiterated Ukraine's urgent need for more U.S. air defense missiles, specifically Patriot interceptors. In an interview, Zelenskiy stated that 5% of the current U.S. stockpile would be sufficient to protect lives through the winter, while 10% could neutralize all Russian ballistic missile threats. He noted that ballistic missiles, due to their speed and trajectory, are considerably more difficult to intercept than drones and cruise missiles. The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia fired over 450 various missiles, more than half of which were ballistic, in July.