Michel bound to take shelter during a strike.
When missiles struck the southern Ukrainian city again, European Council President Charles Michel, who paid a surprise visit to Odessa on Monday, was obliged to break a meeting and evacuate, according to an EU official.
While meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal, he went on strike.
“The participants had to halt the discussion with the PM to seek shelter as missiles pounded the region of Odessa again,” the official stated.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who joined them via video conference, praised Michel for coming to Ukraine on Victory Day, the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat in WWII.
“I am extremely glad that the European Union today, at its highest level, supports Ukraine at a time when expressions of Nazism exist and are being reborn,” he said in a statement released by his office.
Both sides highlighted “the significance of implementing prompt actions to free Ukraine’s ports for grain exports” during the meeting, according to the statement.
The Russian blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports has pushed grain exporters to seek alternative routes to transport their valuable cargo.
The cargo is placed into trains, trucks, or barges and transported to Romania, which has become an important maritime export gateway for Ukrainian crops.
Michel was toured around the port during his visit and “was able to witness firsthand the impact of Russia’s war on global supply networks,” according to Michel.
“The many tons of grain trapped in the port as a result of Russia’s Black Sea blockade not only harm Ukraine’s economy, but also impede global access to crucial food and jeopardize global food security,” the source said.
Prior to the war, Ukraine exported 4.5 million tons of agricultural produce each month through its ports, accounting for 13% of global wheat, 15% of global corn, and 50% of global sunflower oil.
However, the invasion has hampered its ability to export due to Russia’s devastation of transportation infrastructure and siege of Odessa, the primary grain export port.
Food prices have risen dramatically as a result of the fighting.
The United Nations’ World Food Programme urged for the reopening of ports in the Odessa region on Friday, claiming that “hundreds of millions of people around the world” rely on Ukraine’s grain supplies.
The EU leader was also briefed by Ukraine’s navy chief on “the damage suffered by Russian missiles fired from the sea and was able to view first-hand the wanton destruction of a residential building and the impact on innocent victims,” according to an EU official.
