Ukraine accuses Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin of “playing with hunger”. On Sunday, for the first time since the resumption of transports in August, there were no more ships.
Russia justified the suspension with drone attacks on the Black Sea Fleet in the city of Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014. Ukraine was backed by Britain. Britain dismissed the allegations as false.
The safety of the corridor set up for grain transports can no longer be guaranteed, Moscow said. The Ukrainian government sharply rejected this statement. Russia invented attacks on its own facilities. The Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak spoke of “fictitious terrorist attacks”.
Both the EU and the US urged Russia to reverse the decision. The decision endangers “the most important export route for urgently needed grain and fertilizers to deal with the global food crisis caused by the war against Ukraine,” wrote EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell on Twitter on Sunday. “Russia is again using food as a weapon in the war it started,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“Washington’s response to the terrorist attack on the port of Sevastopol is outrageous,” Russian ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov wrote on Telegram. The “ruthless actions of the regime in Kyiv” have not yet been condemned.
The UN, meanwhile, does not want to give up hope that the deal will continue. “We are in contact with the Russian authorities on this matter,” said a UN spokesman in New York. “It is imperative that all sides refrain from any action that jeopardizes the Grains Agreement, which is a crucial humanitarian effort that is clearly having a positive impact on access to food for millions of people worldwide.”
The agreement, negotiated three months ago, should dampen the global rise in grain prices.
Source: Nachrichten
