Main points
- On May 18, a Russian drone attack damaged the Kernel grain elevator complex in Khmelnytskyi region, leading to the loss of grain.
- The attack damaged grain storage tanks, but no employees were injured.
Russia has overtaken “Kernel” in terms of capacity / “Economic Truth”
During the night attack by Russian drones on the Khmelnytskyi region, the grain elevator complex of the Kernel agricultural holding was damaged. As a result of the hit, grain storage facilities were damaged, and some of the products spilled out.
What is known about the attack on “Kernel”?
The strike occurred on the night of May 18 during an attack by enemy drones. This was reported by the Kernel company.
On May 18, during another attack by enemy UAVs, the Kernel grain elevator in Khmelnytskyi region was damaged. As a result of the hit, the grain storage tanks and warehouses were damaged. Due to the destruction, some of the grain spilled out,
– the company reported.
Kernel notes that the company's employees were not injured. Currently:
- The assessment of the extent of damage is ongoing.
- eliminate the consequences of the impact
- determine the extent of damaged infrastructure
What are the forecasts? The company has not yet announced the amount of damage or the extent of grain losses. It is also unknown how much the incident will affect the operation of the complex.
What does this mean?
Attacks on grain elevators and agricultural infrastructure create additional risks for logistics and crop storage. The consequences can be:
- grain losses
- reduction in storage capacity
- additional costs for restoration of facilities
Note! The attack on the Kernel elevator once again demonstrates the vulnerability of agricultural infrastructure during war. Despite the absence of casualties, the company will have to assess the extent of the damage and restore damaged facilities.
Explosions in Khmelnytskyi region: what is known?
On May 18, during a night air raid alert in the Khmelnytskyi region, the sounds of explosions were heard, reported Serhiy Tyurin, head of the Khmelnytskyi OVA.
As a result of the attack in the Khmelnytskyi district, 2 buildings at enterprises were damaged without burning, and 2 fires broke out, which were extinguished by emergency services.
– says the official.
Air defense forces shot down/suppressed 29 enemy drones.
Why is Russia attacking Ukraine's civilian infrastructure?
Russia is deliberately attacking Ukraine's civilian infrastructure to influence not only the economy, but also the psychological state of society. This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting with students and teachers of the Kyiv Aviation Institute, the Office of the President writes.
The President explained that the attacks on the energy system have a clear goal – to weaken Ukraine through the civilian population.
What is the goal of attacking Ukrainian energy? What do you think? To break us. They can't break the military – they hit deep, they break the civilian, because there are much more civilians than military,
– said Zelensky.
After shelling, according to the president, civilians often turn to their loved ones at the front and talk about difficult living conditions. This creates additional psychological pressure on both the military and the civilian population.
Zelensky stressed that the attacks also have an economic goal – to weaken the country's financial system.
Enterprises are not working, there is no energy, no electricity, the economy is not being filled with taxes, there is nothing to pay the military. That is, to break the army, you need to break the civilians. So that there is chaos in civil society, so that there is division. The number one task is to separate the military and civilians,
– the president emphasized.
It is also known that Russia is intensively shelling Ukrainian civilians because Putin is counting on time for negotiations and believes that Trump will not pay attention to it. At the same time, President Zelensky is trying to convince partners to significantly increase support for Ukraine and implement sanctions against Russian logistics.
Advisor to the President's Office, Mykhailo Podolyak, explained to Channel 24 that the American president needs a realistic, rather than aggressive, communication policy that will allow him to weaken Russian capabilities.
Expert name
Advisor to the President's Office
When Trump says that Putin wants peace and negotiations will solve everything, it reminds him of his statements about the Middle East – nothing has been solved there. Yesterday we saw a concrete manifestation of “Russian peace” – it is based on mass murder. In addition, Putin expects that he has time to “genocide” the Ukrainian population
The US temporarily suspended some sanctions on Russian oil, but US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said that all the oil that was in the sea has already been sold, so the sanctions are being reinstated.
According to the expert, Putin is seizing the moment – Russian strikes on civilians are the only element of Russia's military strategy against civilians. Because once the negotiations are over and the active phase of the war is stopped, he will not be able to kill on such a scale.
Putin understands that he is sincerely hated in Ukraine – by 99.9% of the population. This is critically important. President Zelenskyy, in his foreign tour, demonstrates the right approach – he clearly speaks to partners about the need for support, primarily regarding anti-missile programs,
– explained Podoliak.
By the way, the last shelling of Kernel facilities took place in Chornomorsk. As a result of direct hits, product storage tanks were destroyed and damaged. This led to the leakage of more than 1,100 tons of oil, NV writes.
At the same time, the situation was quickly brought under control – the leak was promptly localized, and the products did not fall into the sea, so an environmental disaster was avoided.
The impact also caused a large-scale fire that engulfed part of the production facilities:
- The fire was extinguished in a short time, but the damage to the infrastructure was significant.
- In addition to the tanks, the company's production equipment, office space, and logistics infrastructure were damaged.
- In particular, four railway tank cars used to transport products were damaged.
Due to the significant damage, the company was forced to temporarily suspend the reception and shipment of products at this terminal. One of the company's employees was also injured in the attack – he received moderate injuries.