Russia attacks key Ukrainian bridge used to export grain to Romania

Pope Francis says wheat must not be used as 'weapon of war' as price shock convulses world markets

An evacuation convoy travels along a damaged road from the town of Kupiansk on the outskirts of Kharkiv. Reuters

Russia has conducted long-range missile strikes on a strategic bridge in southern Ukraine in a bid to stop grain exports to Romania, British intelligence suggests.

The Zatoka drawbridge in the Karolino-Buhaz in the Odesa oblast serves as a vital passage for goods between Ukraine and its neighbour, which has become an alternative route to market after the country's own Black Sea ports were blockaded or destroyed in the war.

The bridge located 60 kilometres south of the city of Odesa was previously targeted by a Russian strike in April.

The latest attack suggests President Vladimir Putin’s army is stepping up its efforts to cut Ukraine off from outside resources while its main focus remains on the eastern region of Ukraine.

“Beyond the Donbas, Russia continues to conduct long-range missile strikes against infrastructure across Ukraine,” the UK’s Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update on Wednesday.

“The strategically important bridge links Ukraine with Romania and with Ukraine’s ports on the Danube, which have become critical to Ukrainian exports after the blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports by Russia.”

Before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 the bridge was lifted five times a day for an hour to let ships pass through.

Western leaders have accused Mr Putin of holding the world to ransom by stemming the flow of grain from Ukraine. The former Soviet nation is the world’s fourth-largest exporter of grain.

Pope Francis on Wednesday called for a return of exports from Ukraine, saying wheat could not be used as a “weapon of war”.

Many millions of people, particularly in the world's poorest countries, depend on wheat from Ukraine, the pope told a general audience of thousands of people gathered in St Peter's Square in the Vatican.

The United Nations, which says a global food crisis is worsening, is trying to broker a deal to unblock Ukraine's grain exports.

"The blocking of exports of wheat from Ukraine is very worrying because the lives of millions of people depend on it, especially in poorer countries," the pontiff told worshippers.

"I make a heartfelt appeal so that every effort is made to resolve this problem, to guarantee the universal right to nutrition. Please! Do not use wheat, a basic foodstuff, as a weapon of war," he added, to applause from the crowd.

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  A Soviet/Russian towed 152mm field gun, called the 2A36 Giatsint-B, is fired by self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic militia on the front line near Avdiivka, Donetsk region. EPA

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  A girl runs through a fountain in front of the Opera house in Lviv, Ukraine. AP

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  A girl is seen through a hole in the kitchen of an apartment destroyed by Russian attacks in Irpin, outside Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters

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  A young woman walks near a damaged Soviet tank monument in Trostyanets, Ukraine. Getty Images

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  Members of the foreign volunteers unit which fights in the Ukrainian army, in Severodonetsk. Reuters

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  A woman looks for her belongings beneath rubble after a strike destroyed three houses in the city of Slovyansk, in the Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP

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  Ukraine fans hold up anti-war signs before a Fifa World Cup qualifier match at Hampden Park, Glasgow. PA

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  A street musician plays the piano to raise money for the Ukrainian army in Sumy, Ukraine. Getty

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  Residents queue to fetch water in the town of Rubizhne, in Ukraine's Luhansk enclave. Reuters

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  Children walk past a damaged school in the city of Merefa in the Kharkiv area, Ukraine. EPA

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  A man repairs a car in a residential area of Mariupol. AFP

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  An aerial view shows a Russian vessel reportedly delivering stolen Ukrainian grain at Latakia port in Syria. AFP

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  Children sit inside a bomb shelter in Rubizhne. Reuters

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  A man pushes a bicycle near a residential building in Rubizhne that was destroyed during fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces. Reuters

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  Vlada Shcheglova, wife of Ukraine footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko, before the Fifa World Cup qualifier at Hampden Park in Glasgow. PA

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  A damaged building in the town of Rubizhne. Reuters

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  A man reads a book as he sits on a fragment of a rocket at an exhibition in Kyiv featuring Russian equipment that was damaged or destroyed during the conflict. AFP

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  Ukrainian servicemen ride electric scooters in Kyiv. AFP

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  A man reacts at the site where his house once stood in Motyzhyn village in the Kyiv region. AFP

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  The burnt wreckage of a tank sits in the overflowing Uhor river, in Kolychivka, Ukraine. Getty Images

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  People sit next to a damaged apartment building in Irpin, near Kyiv. AFP

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  Evgeny, 31, stands in his damaged apartment in the Saltivka district, northern Kharkiv. AFP

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  Ukrainian workers repair a flat damaged by shelling in the southern city of Odesa. EPA

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  The windows of a Gazprom oil company building in Moscow glow in the shape of the symbol Z, associated with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. EPA

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  A Ukrainian soldier looks at sunflower seeds on fire in a storage area, after shelling on a farm close to the front line near Bakhmut. EPA

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  The burnt wreckage of a Ukrainian tank, in Kolychivka. Getty Images

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  A grave in front of destroyed residential buildings in Mariupol. AFP

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  Residents sit outside a destroyed apartment building in Mariupol. AFP

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  A cat walks past destroyed residential buildings in Mariupol. AFP

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  Local artists draw on fragments of exploded rockets in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. EPA

Meanwhile, the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region has seen some of the fiercest clashes between defending forces and the Russians in recent days. The MoD said more than half the city, which had a pre-war population of 106,000, is now probably occupied by President Putin’s troops.

“Russian ground operations remain tightly focused, with the weight of fire power concentrated within a small sector of Luhansk oblast,” the MoD said.

“Over 30-31 May, fighting intensified in the streets of Severodonetsk, with Russian forces pushing closer to the town centre. Over half of the town is likely now occupied by Russian forces, including Chechen fighters.”