The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has lasted for more than one and a half years, and yet the assault between the neighbors continues. On the 3rd of September 2023 night, the Ukrainian Danube Port of Reni in the Odesa region was attacked by Iranian-made Russian attack drones. Reni and Izmail, Ukraine’s two largest ports on the Danube River, have been repeatedly attacked by Russian drones in recent weeks.

As per the Ukrainian forces, its air defense system shot down 22 of the twenty-five Shahed attack drones launched in the early hours. The South Military Command revealed that at least two civilians were injured in the attack.

The Danube has been used as Ukraine’s main route for exporting grains since the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal.

The incident comes just a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin was scheduled to meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to negotiate the resumption of food exports from Ukraine under a Black Sea grain accord brokered by the UN in July.

Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, described the attack as part of a Russian campaign “to provoke a food crisis and hunger in the world.”

Romania has been at the forefront of condemning the attack, as the NATO member shares a border with the region.

-Anushka Upadhyay