Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slams Russian 'deceit' after Odesa hit

Firefighters put out a fire in a port after a Russian missiles attack in Odesa, Ukraine. Credit: AP

Russian defence officials insisted on Sunday that a missile attack that hit the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Saturday had only hit military targets, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had demonstrated to the world its inability to negotiate.

The strike hit Odesa just hours after Moscow and Kyiv signed deals to allow grain exports to resume from there.

Long-range missiles destroyed a docked Ukrainian warship and a warehouse holding Harpoon anti-ship missiles supplied by the US, Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a daily briefing.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry denounced Saturday's airstrikes as a “spit in the face” to Turkey and the United Nations, which brokered the grain agreements.

Command spokeswoman Nataliya Humenyuk said no grain storage facilities were hit in Odesa.

Turkey's defence minister, however, said he had spoken with Ukrainian authorities and one missile struck a grain silo and another landed nearby but neither affected loading at Odesa's docks.

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Mr Zelenskky said: "Russian missile attack on Odesa, on our port, is a cynical one, and it was also a strike to the political positions of Russia itself.

"If someone in the world could still say that some kind of dialogue with Russia, some kind of agreement is needed, you see what is happening.

"Russian Kalibrs have destroyed the very possibility for such statements."

"And we see the absolute unanimity of the world's reaction to this strike. The occupiers can no longer deceive anyone," he added.

"Among other things, as a result of this strike, the building of the Odesa Art Museum was also damaged. The rockets hit close to the historical objects of Odesa - something that is the heritage of not only Ukrainian culture but also the culture of Europe."

The Ukrainian president mentioned a visit earlier on Saturday of an American parliamentarian delegation headed by Congressman Adam Smith to Ukraine, and thanked US President Joe Biden for the new package of security assistance worth 270 million dollars.