Putin Suspends Black Sea Grain Exports

Moscow pulled out of the UN-brokered agreement on Saturday, alleging that Ukraine had used a safety corridor in the Black Sea to attack its fleet.

The UN says there were no ships inside the corridor that night.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the deal would be honoured and accused Russia of “blackmailing the world with hunger” – a claim Russia denies.

Despite the fallout, three vessels loaded with grain left Ukrainian ports on Tuesday, the UN-led co-ordination centre said.

“The movement of these vessels has been agreed by the Ukrainian, Turkish and UN delegations… The Russian delegation has been informed,” the Istanbul-based Centre. Reports said.

On Monday, 12 ships containing 354,500 tonnes of food, including grain, sailed from Ukraine, the country’s infrastructure ministry said. This constituted a record volume of exports since the grain deal began, said a spokesperson for Odesa’s military administration.

One of the vessels carrying 40,000 tonnes of grain was destined for Ethiopia, where “the real possibility of mass starvation” existed, the ministry added.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, its navy imposed a blockade on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, trapping about 20 million tonnes of grain meant for export inside the country, along with other foodstuffs such as maize and sunflower oil.

But in July, a deal between Ukraine and Russia was brokered by Turkey and the UN, agreeing to resume grain exports through the Black Sea ports.

Deal Being Suspended
On Monday, however, President Putin said the deal was being suspended, citing the “massive” drone attack on its fleet in Crimea that he alleged Kyiv was responsible for.

He said maritime safety must be ensured and that implementing grain exports under such conditions were too risky.

“Ukraine must guarantee that there will be no threats to civilian vessels,” Mr Putin said in a televised address.

Kyiv has not admitted responsibility for the attack, saying Moscow had long planned to abandon the internationally-brokered deal and used the attack as a pretext to do so.

Reuters /Shakirat Sadiq