Russian forces struck a grain terminal and injured at least four civilians in the southern city of Kherson, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday, extending a bombardment of Ukrainian infrastructure that has raised alarms about Kyiv’s ability to ship grain to the world.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to enhance Ukrainian air defences around the port and the southern coast, but Kyiv’s resources are stretched thin and it must make difficult choices about where to deploy the limited number of air defence systems that are able to shoot down Russia’s most sophisticated missiles.

The Ukrainians continue to issue pleas to their western partners to speed the delivery of more air defence systems and warn that if Russia continues its bombardment, Ukraine could be left without the infrastructure needed to ship grain.

“In two or three months, we may not have a single port left,” Natalia Humeniuk, the spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military southern command, told French journalists this week. “They want to dominate the Black Sea. They want to have a monopoly on grain,” she said.

On Saturday, she said that Ukraine has taken measures to better protect the ports but warned that Russia may once again be adjusting its tactics before striking again. The attack reported on Saturday hit a grain terminal in the Beryslav district and was just one of 29 attacks by Russian forces directed at Kherson in the past 24 hours using mortars.

New York Times News Service