- In reaction to a ship attack by Ukraine, Russia warns it will move.
- A July agreement permitted Ukraine to export grains.
- Biden claims that the ‘outrageous’ action will worsen hunger.
- Moscow criticizes the U.S. response.
- Kyiv charges Russia with having carefully planned the move.
The European Union on Sunday urged Russia to reconsider its decision to leave a grain deal mediated by the United Nations, a move that hampered attempts to solve a worldwide food crisis and was allegedly well-planned by Moscow, according to Ukraine.
In response to what it described as a significant Ukrainian drone attack earlier in the day on its fleet near the port of Sevastopol in Russian-annexed Crimea, Moscow suspended its participation in the Black Sea agreement on Saturday, effectively cutting shipments from Ukraine, one of the top grain exporters in the world.
According to EU foreign policy leader Josep Borrell on Twitter, “Russia’s decision to stop participation in the Black Sea pact puts at danger the principal export route of much-needed grains and fertilizers to alleviate the global food crisis caused by its conflict against Ukraine.”
“The EU calls on Russia to change its mind.”
Asserting that it will lead to more people going hungry, U.S. President Joe Biden referred to the action as “simply absurd” on Saturday, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken charged Moscow with turning food into a weapon. The Russian ambassador to Washington retaliated on Sunday, calling the American response “outrageous” and denying claims made about Moscow’s action.
The Black Sea Fleet was assaulted by Ukraine early on Saturday with 16 drones near Sevastopol, according to the Russian defence ministry, and British military “specialists” assisted in planning what was described as a terrorist strike.
Russia said that although it had thwarted the attack, the ships involved in securing the grain route out of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports were the ones being targeted.
Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, claimed that Moscow exploited the explosions that occurred 137 miles (about 220 kilometers) distant from the grain route as a “false pretext” for a long-planned move.
On Twitter, Kuleba asserted that “Russia has planned this far in advance.” He asserted without providing any proof that “Russia took the decision to resume its hunger games long ago.”
On Saturday, the chief of staff for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy charged Russia with fabricating assaults on its own infrastructure.
Some military analysts believe that this makes the Black Sea Fleet a valid military target. Kyiv frequently accuses Russia of employing the fleet to launch cruise missiles at Ukrainian civilian areas.
Additionally, Moscow claimed that members of the British navy blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month, a charge that London dismissed as untrue and an attempt to deflect attention from Russian military missteps in Ukraine.
The eight-month conflict, which has recently been dominated by a Ukrainian counteroffensive and Russian drone and missile attacks that have destroyed more than 30% of Ukraine’s generating capacity and hit populated areas, has seen a new development with Russia’s withdrawal from the grain agreement. The conflict was sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
Both sides have claimed that the other is ready to employ radioactive bombs as a weapon.
Zelenskiy demanded a resounding response from the G20 big economies and the UN to what he called Russia’s absurd move on the grain deal.
In a video message on Saturday, Zelenskiy said, “This is a completely blatant attempt by Russia to return to the fear of large-scale starvation for Africa, for Asia,” adding that Russia should be expelled from the G20.
The “HUNGER GAMES”
The grain agreement had resumed exports from Ukraine, opening up opportunities for sales on global markets with an objective of returning exports to the pre-war level of 5 million metric tonnes per month.
Under the terms of the July 22 agreement, more than 9 million tonnes of corn, wheat, sunflower products, barley, rapeseed, and soy have been exported.
However, Russia had frequently stated that there were significant issues with it before to its expiration on November 19th. Ukraine alleged that over 200 ships intended to take up grain deliveries had been halted by Moscow.
As the war disrupted Ukrainian supplies, leading to worldwide food shortages and skyrocketing prices, the U.N. World Food Programme said that approximately 47 million people were experiencing “acute famine” at the time the deal was struck.
The agreement guaranteed safe transit for the covered ships and infrastructure into and out of Odesa and two other Ukrainian ports, creating what an official dubbed a “de facto ceasefire.”
As reported by Reuters, Russia informed U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday that it was suspending the agreement for an “indefinite duration” due to its inability to “ensure the safety of civilian ships” traveling under the agreement.
Dmitry Polyanskiy, the deputy U.N. ambassador, posted on Twitter that Moscow has requested a meeting of the Security Council on Monday to examine the incident in Sevastopol.
Amir Abdulla, the U.N. coordinator for the arrangement, stated on Saturday that more than 10 outbound and inbound vessels were waiting to join the humanitarian corridor and that there was no agreement for the transit of vessels on Sunday.
