KYIV, Ukraine, July 24, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr

Zelensky denounced a missile strike on the port of Odessa as "Russian
barbarism" just a day after the warring sides struck a deal to resume cereal
exports blocked by the conflict.

The Ukrainian military said its air defences had shot down two cruise
missiles but two more hit the port Saturday, threatening the landmark
agreement hammered out over months of negotiations aimed at relieving a
global food crisis.

Zelensky said the strikes on Odessa showed Moscow could not be trusted to
keep its promises.

"Today's Russian missile attack on Odessa, on our port, is a cynical one, and
it was also a blow to the political positions of Russia itself," Zelensky
said in his nightly address, adding dialogue with Moscow was becoming
increasingly untenable.

"This apparent Russian barbarism brings us even closer to obtaining the very
weapons we need for our victory," Zelensky added.

The strike came a day after Moscow and Kyiv agreed a deal brokered by Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and United Nations chief Antonio Guterres.

Odessa is one of three export hubs designated in the agreement and Ukrainian
officials said grain was being stored in the port at the time of the strike,
although the food stocks did not appear to have been hit.

Guterres -- who presided over the signing ceremony on Friday --
"unequivocally" condemned the attack, his deputy spokesman said, and urged
all sides to stick to the deal.

"These products are desperately needed to address the global food crisis and
ease the suffering of millions of people in need around the globe," he said.

The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell directly blamed Russia for the
strikes.

"Striking a target crucial for grain export a day after the signature of
(the) Istanbul agreements is particularly reprehensible and again
demonstrates Russia's total disregard for international law and commitments,"
he said.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the attack was "absolutely appalling" and
"completely unwarranted".

The United States also "strongly condemned" the attack, with Secretary of
State Antony Blinken saying it "casts serious doubt on the credibility of
Russia's commitment to yesterday's deal".

There was no official comment from Moscow, but Turkish Defence Minister
Hulusi Akar said Russia had denied carrying out the attack.

"The Russians told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with this attack
and they were looking into the issue very closely," Akar said in comments to
state news agency Anadolu.

"We will continue to fulfil our responsibilities under the agreement we
reached yesterday," he added.

Regional governor Maksym Marchenko said the strikes left people wounded and
damaged port infrastructure in Odessa, without specifying the number or
severity of the injuries.

- 20 million tonnes of wheat -

The first major accord between the countries since Russia's February invasion
of Ukraine aims to ease the "acute hunger" the UN says an additional 47
million people are facing because of the war.

Ukraine at the signing warned it would conduct "an immediate military
response" should Russia violate the accord and attack its ships or stage an
incursion around its ports.

Zelensky said responsibility for enforcing the deal fell to the UN, which
along with Turkey is a co-guarantor of the agreement.

The deal includes points on running Ukrainian grain ships along safe
corridors that avoid known mines in the Black Sea.

Huge quantities of wheat and other grain have been blocked in Ukrainian ports
by Russian warships and the mines Kyiv laid to avert a feared amphibious
assault.

Zelensky said that around 20 million tonnes of produce from last year's
harvest and the current crop would be exported under the agreement,
estimating the value of Ukraine's grain stocks at around $10 billion.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Kremlin state media he expected
the deal to start working "in the next few days" although diplomats expect
grain to only start fully flowing by mid-August.

- Strikes on central Ukraine -

Russia is trying to fight deeper into the eastern Donetsk region after
securing full control of neighbouring Lugansk.

The US State Department on Saturday said two Americans had died in the area,
without saying whether the pair were in the country for combat purposes.

Russian missile strikes on railway infrastructure and a military airfield in
the central area of Kirovograd on Saturday also killed at least three people
and wounded 16 more, regional governor Andriy Raikovych said.

At least one of the dead was a serviceman, he said earlier -- a rare
admission of a military casualty as combat deaths have been closely guarded
by both sides.

Russia also pursued an artillery campaign over Ukraine's second city,
Kharkiv, with attacks wounding one woman, the presidency said. An elderly
farmer was killed in further shelling in Sumy, northwest of Kharkiv.

Two others, including a teenager, were wounded in strikes on Mykolaiv, the
largest city under Ukrainian control near Russian-occupied Kherson and the
southern front, which has been shelled persistently since the beginning of
the invasion.