London, Aug. 4, (dpa/GNA) - Russia is taking risks to prevent grain exports from Ukraine, according to a British intelligence update.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in London stated on Friday that Russia recently targeted sites using so-called kamikaze drones of Iranian production, located only 200 metres from the Romanian border – within NATO territory: ”Russia has evolved its risk appetite for conducting strikes near NATO territory.”
The aim of these attacks is to force international shipping to stop trade through Ukrainian Danube ports, the MOD added.
“There is a realistic possibility that Russia is using OWA UAVs [one way attack unmanned aerial vehicles] to strike this area in the belief they are less likely to risk escalation than cruise missiles,” the statement continued. “Russia likely considers them as acceptably accurate, and they have much smaller warheads than cruise.”
A grain silo in the port of Izmail on the Danube was destroyed recently. A few weeks ago, Russia cancelled an agreement that permitted the export of Ukrainian grain and has since been bombing port infrastructure and storage facilities for agricultural products.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the British MoD has been releasing daily updates on the war. Moscow has accused London of spreading misinformation.
GNA