Ukraine – Condamnation des frappes Ukraine – Condemnation of Russian strikes targeting Odesa (August 2, 2023)visant Odessa (2 août 2023)

France utterly condemns the latest round of Russian strikes in Ukraine, which hit the port infrastructure of Izmail on the Danube River the night of August 1. A grain elevator, grain hangars, freight terminal tanks, warehouses and administrative buildings were all damaged or destroyed.

After pulling out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia is once again deliberately putting global food security at risk by destroying essential grain export infrastructure. Russia is simply pursuing its own interests at the expense of the most vulnerable by causing crop prices to rise and attempting to prevent one of its main competitors from exporting the agricultural goods that they produce. France will continue to provide food aid to the countries that have been hit the hardest by the food insecurity resulting from the Russian aggression.

Once again, these strikes targeted civilian infrastructure, in violation of international humanitarian law. As Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna has repeatedly emphasized, these unacceptable acts are war crimes and cannot go unpunished. In close coordination with its partners, France will continue to provide military support to Ukraine to help it strengthen its air defenses, as well as support for the Ukrainian courts and the International Criminal Court to combat impunity for such crimes.