The Kremlin said Monday that Russian strikes on Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odessa "should not affect" a UN-brokered deal between Moscow and Kyiv to unblock grain exports.

"This cannot and should not affect the start of shipment," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, two days after Moscow hit the port. He said Moscow's strikes targeted "exclusively" military infrastructure and were "not connected with the agreement on the export of grain."