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Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure on Monday were in part a response to a drone attack on the Black Sea fleet over the weekend, President Vladimir Putin has said during a news conference in Sochi, indicating more action could follow.
Key points:
- Russian strikes left 80 per cent of consumers in Kyiv without water and hundreds throughout Ukraine without power
- Ukraine said it shot down 45 cruise missiles Russia launched on Monday
- Russia says it will donate 25,000 tonnes of wheat to crisis-hit Lebanon
"That's not all we could have done," he told a televised news conference.
Russia sent a barrage of missiles over the weekend that hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cities.
Officials said 80 per cent of consumers in Kyiv were left without water supplies "due to the damage to a power facility" and hundreds of localities in seven Ukrainian regions were left without power.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday his country's forces had shot down most of the 55 cruise missiles launched by Russia earlier in the day.
In his nightly address, he said 45 missies in total were destroyed.
One of the Russian missiles which Ukraine shot down landed on the Moldovan border city of Naslavcea, causing damage but no casualties.
Mr Zelenskyy said the missile fragments that landed in Moldova showed "how important it is to protect ourselves from this evil together".
He also said four Russian helicopters, including "three attack Ka-52s and one Mi-8", had been shot down by Ukrainian air force personnel on Monday.
Putin says Russia 'suspending' grain deal, not ending it
Russia is not ending its participation in a deal to export much-needed Ukrainian grain through Black Sea ports, but rather is suspending it, Mr Putin said on Monday.
Mr Putin's comments were his first since Moscow announced on Saturday it was freezing participation in the United Nations-brokered Black Sea agreement — which facilitates the safe passage of cargo ships through the Black Sea amid the war — after what it said was a major Ukrainian drone attack on its fleet in Crimea.
"We are not saying that we are ceasing our participation in this operation. No, we are saying that we are suspending it," Mr Putin told a televised news conference.
Mr Putin said the Ukrainian drones had travelled through the same corridors the grain ships used.
"And thus they created a threat both to our ships, which must ensure the safety of grain exports, and to the civilian ships that are engaged in this," he said.
Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
Other participants in the deal pressed ahead with exporting grain on Monday, even though Russia said it was risky.
"Ukraine must guarantee that there will be no threats to civilian vessels or to Russian supply vessels," Mr Putin said, noting that under the terms of the deal, Russia was responsible for ensuring security.
Russia to donate 25,000 tonnes of wheat to Lebanon
Despite halting its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia will donate 25,000 tonnes of wheat to crisis-hit Lebanon, the public works minister said on Monday.
Russia would also donate 10,000 tonnes of fuel oil to Beirut, minister Ali Hamie said, without elaborating.
The Russian embassy in Lebanon did not respond to a request for comment.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative had eased food security concerns, especially in parts of the developing world heavily dependent on grain imports.
Lebanon is in the fourth year of its most serious crisis since the nation's 1975-90 civil war.
The national currency has lost more than 90 per cent of its value since 2019, leaving the cash-strapped government struggling to pay for imports of basic goods.
ABC/wires