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Drone attacks in Ukraine over the weekend caused widespread damage to grain storage facilities in the city of Uman. Ukraine, until Russia's invasion began, was one of the world's biggest exporters of grain, sending food around the world.

Throughout Sunday, firefighters were trying to put out the blaze over an area of more than 3,000 square metres. Uman is in central Ukraine, far from the ports of the Black Sea that have been targeted so far, and that raises concerns that Russia is extending its drone attacks to target grain stores nationwide. In this incident, there were a few injuries but no deaths were reported.

Andriy Dykun, the head of the Ukrainian Agricultural Council in Uman, has told Newsday that what happened in Uman was something new for them, "unexpected... a big surprise". He says they were not ready for it. Ukraine usually exports eight million tonnes of grain but can currently only export around four million. He says the port of Odesa needs to be opened to export the grain, and that the country needs continued financial support from other countries.

"Without the support of Great Britain, the United States, our European partners, we would not survive," he says.

(Picture: Ukraine's 2023 Wheat Harvest Underway Amid Attacks On Storage Facilities Across Country. Credit: Ed Ram/Getty Images)

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