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Russia suspended its participation in the UN deal that allowed Ukraine to export its grain and other agricultural products from Black Sea ports after claiming that Kyiv used the corridor to attack Kremlin ships, raising concerns about global food insecurity.
The Russian military accused Ukrainian forces of using drones to attack “military and civilian” ships near Sevastopol in Crimea early Saturday, claiming the attacks were carried out “with the participation of experts British”.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said separately that due to the attack it would “no longer guarantee the safety of civilian dry cargo ships participating in the Black Sea Grain Initiative and will suspend its implementation from today for an indefinite period.”
The UK responded to the accusation of drone strikes by saying Russia was making “false claims of an epic scale”. Ukraine did not officially claim responsibility for the attacks.
A video that appeared on Ukrainian Telegram channels on Saturday showed a naval drone targeting what appeared to be the Russian Admiral Makarov frigate. The Makarov had reportedly replaced the flagship of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva, which sank in April after Ukrainian forces hit it with Neptune anti-ship missiles. The Washington Post has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of this video.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the drone attacks were largely repelled and that only one minesweeper suffered minor damage.
Moscow and Kyiv signed the grain deal in July, which opened Ukraine’s Black Sea ports to exports, which had been halted after Russia invaded the country on February 24.
Turkey played a key role in negotiating the deal, as it has close ties to Russia and Ukraine and has sought to raise its diplomatic profile to mediate talks between the warring parties.
As part of the deal, Ukrainian pilots guided the ships through the port, which Ukraine exploited before the war to prevent Russia from capturing key ports such as Odessa. The United States and Ukraine also accused the Russian navy of laying mines near the Ukrainian coast.
The ships were then given a safe passage to sail to Turkey by the Russian military, which organized teams with experts from all parties involved to inspect the ships before they left for their destinations. Ships bound for Ukraine were also inspected for weapons, a condition Moscow put in place to ensure the grain corridor was not used to supply Western arms to Ukraine.
According to the United Nations, more than 8 million tons of grain were exported from Ukraine as part of the deal that caused world food prices to fall.
“It is vital that all parties refrain from any action that could jeopardize the Black Sea Cereals Initiative, which is a critical humanitarian effort that is clearly having a positive impact on food access for millions of people in the whole world,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said in a statement.
Negotiations on an extension of the agreement were strained even before the ship attack, as Moscow has indicated it may withdraw from the deal after repeated complaints about its implementation.
In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin floated the idea of limiting the deal, saying goods were going to the European Union instead of poor countries suffering from food shortages.
Erdogan echoed Putin’s complaints, adding that he also wants to export Russian grain.
“The fact that grain shipments go to countries that apply these sanctions [against Moscow] upset Mr. Putin. We also want grain shipments to start from Russia,” Erdogan told a news conference. “The grain that comes as part of this grain deal, unfortunately, goes to rich countries, not poor countries.”
After the explosion of the strategic bridge linking Crimea with mainland Russia in early October, Putin speculated that the grain corridor could have been used by Ukrainian special services to attack the highly symbolic gateway. If proven, he suggested, it would jeopardize the deal.
Putin blames Kyiv for attack on strategic bridge in Crimea
Later in October, Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said Russian-flagged ships were not being accepted in European ports because of sanctions and lamented the difficulties in obtaining insurance and financing for Russian grain and fertilizer shipments.
Ukraine, in turn, accused Moscow of not fully implementing the agreement. In one of his evening conferences last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was “deliberately delaying the passage of ships”, creating an artificial backlog of more than 150 ships.
Zelensky said the situation with Ukraine’s food exports is becoming “more and more tense” and that Moscow is “doing everything to slow down” the process.
“I think that with these actions, Russia is deliberately inciting the food crisis to become as acute as it was in the first half of this year,” Zelensky said.
Last week, Ukraine also accused Russia of blocking the full implementation of the agreement, saying that Ukrainian ports have recently been working at 25-30 percent of their capacity.
“Russia is deliberately blocking the full realization of the Grains Initiative,” the country’s infrastructure ministry said at the time.
In a tweet on Saturday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Moscow was using a “false pretext” to prevent Ukraine from exporting its grain and other agricultural products.
“We have warned of Russia’s plans to ruin the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” Kuleba wrote. He also called on the world community to “demand that Russia stop its hunger games and recommit to its obligations.”
The head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriy Yermak, said Moscow engaged in “blackmail” with food, energy and nuclear materials, which he described as “primitive”.
David Stern contributed to this report.