Russia terminates Ukraine grain export agreement
After drone attacks on its naval vessels, Russia withdrew from an agreement to permit Ukrainian grain exports from Black Sea ports. This decision has the potential to worsen the world food crisis and send prices skyrocketing once more.
US President Joe Biden criticizes this action and told reporters in Delaware, “It’s just ridiculous.” “It will lead to further famine.”
The action on Saturday came after Russia claimed that Ukraine had attacked its Black Sea fleet near Sevastopol, Crimea. Although it hasn’t officially admitted it, Ukraine has called for “strong international reaction” to Russia’s decision.
Russia frequently responds to attacks on Crimea, which Vladimir Putin annexed in 2014. Following the previous high-profile incident ascribed to Ukraine, an explosion on the Kerch Strait Bridge connecting mainland Russia and Crimea, Kremlin forces launched a torrent of assaults against Ukraine’s power grid and other crucial infrastructure.
The likelihood of negotiations to extend the accord past its intended expiry date of Nov. 19 was dimmed when Russia’s Foreign Ministry described the suspension of the grain arrangement as “indefinite.” The safe-passage agreement, which was mediated in July by the United Nations and Turkey, has been essential in permitting the transfer of millions of tonnes of grain that had accumulated in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion as well as fresh harvests being produced.
About 170 vessels are currently trapped, with some of them waiting for more than three weeks, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who stated this in his routine nightly speech to the nation. That indicates that more than 2 million tonnes of food are at sea, he claimed.
Russia is clearly deliberately blocking this, according to Zelenskiy. It is clear that Russia wants to bring the prospect of widespread hunger back to Africa and Asia.
With winter just weeks away, the war is escalating even more cruelly eight months after Russia invaded its neighbour. Rolling blackouts caused by Russia’s bombing campaign have left millions of Ukrainians without electricity; Iran is supplying armed drones to Putin’s soldiers; and Russian authorities have asserted—in statements that Kyiv has rejected—that Ukraine is preparing a “dirty bomb.”
Allies of Ukraine swiftly expressed their condemnation.
They constantly try to find an explanation so they can claim that the West forced them to do something absurd, according to Biden. “The actions they are taking have no merit. That agreement was negotiated by the UN, and that ought to be the end of it.
Putin has frequently criticised the agreement, claiming that not many supplies were going to underdeveloped countries. Additionally, Russia claimed that its own agricultural products and grains were not given the same access to international markets.
However, the facts, which demonstrate that a sizeable portion of the shipments have gone to these countries, do not support the accusations that developing countries are not benefiting from the safe-corridor agreement.
Grain traders and farmers have been attentively following the conversations. Because of concerns that the agreement would expire, forward sales had already started to decline. Ukraine had also expressed worries about the number of ships that needed to be inspected as part of the agreement.
A protracted suspension might shock the world’s crop markets once more. Although grain prices have decreased recently, the rising dollar has made it difficult for importers to make payments, increasing the risk of shortages.
The safe-passage agreement has been essential in greatly expanding the flow of grain from one of the most significant producers in the world, although Ukraine does export crops by land and river as well. Since the first ship sailed on August 1, more than 9 million tonnes of merchandise have departed Ukrainian Black Sea ports.
Russia terminates Ukraine grain export agreement
Moscow also made an effort to blame Ukraine’s Western friends as its justification for cancelling the agreement. The UK defence ministry referred to the allegations as “false assertions on an epic scale” and claimed that “British specialists” were involved in the attacks on the Black Sea fleet.
It is impossible to verify the earlier Russian assertion that the vessels attacked were involved in safeguarding the security of the Black Sea grain initiative. A navy minesweeper reportedly suffered only minimal damage, according to Moscow.
