The Russian Defense Ministry has announced the suspension of the agreement for the export of Ukrainian grain through Black Sea ports in retaliation for Saturday’s «terrorist attack» on Black Sea Fleet ships based in the port of Sevastopol.
«Russia suspends its participation in the implementation of agreements for the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports,» the Defense Ministry has informed, Russian news agency Interfax reported.
This decision has been taken «taking into account the terrorist attack perpetrated on October 29 this year by the Kiev regime with the participation of British specialists against ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian vessels involved in ensuring the security of the grain corridor.»
The attack began at 4.20 a.m. Sevastopol and involved «nine unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as with seven autonomous marine drones.» «All aerial targets were eliminated,» Moscow has stressed, stressing that «preparations for the attack were led by British specialists,» according to media akin to the Kremlin.
«The preparation of this terrorist attack and the training of servicemen of the 73rd Ukrainian Special Center for maritime operations was carried out by British specialists based in the city of Ochakov, in the Ukrainian province of Nikolaev,» according to Moscow, which claims that these specialists would be involved in the attacks on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.
Russian military spokesman General Igor Konashenkov confirmed minor damage to the minesweeper ‘Ivan Golubets’ and the containment barrier in Yuzhnaya Bay. «The terrorist attack on the exterior of Sevastopol has been repulsed. Four unmanned marine vehicles have been destroyed with naval armament and nabal aviation of the Black Sea Fleet. Three more vehicles have been destroyed inside the port,» according to its balance sheet.
Russia has denounced through Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova that London was directly involved. «Russia intends to draw the attention of the world community, including the UN Security Council, to a series of terrorist attacks against the Russian Federation in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea and in which the United Kingdom is implicated,» Zakharova has outlined.
Shortly thereafter, it emerged that Russia has requested an emergency convening of the UN Security Council to discuss the attack on the Black Sea Fleet, the Russian news agency TASS reported, citing the Russian permanent mission to the UN.
Russian media already speak of «the largest drone attack carried out by the Armed Forces of Ukraine since the beginning of the special military operation», the name by which Russia designates the invasion of Ukraine launched on February 24.
The governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, stressed that the Russian forces repelled the attack, which was aimed at the military installations of this strategic port.
UKRAINIAN REJECTION OF «BLACKMAIL».
Following the news of the suspension of the agreement, the Ukrainian government has accused Russia of abandoning the initiative for the export of Ukrainian grain under the «false pretext» of the attack on its facilities in Sevastopol (Crimea).
For Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dimitro Kuleba, Russia’s withdrawal comes as no surprise. «We had already warned about Russia’s plans to ruin the Black Sea Grain Initiative,» he said on his Twitter account.
«Now Moscow is using a false pretext to block the grain corridor that guarantees food security for millions of people,» he lamented before accusing Moscow of using the food crisis as a negotiating tool.
«I call on all countries to demand that Russia stop its ‘hunger games’ and recommit to its obligations,» the minister added.
500,000 TONS OF FREE GRAIN FOR POOR COUNTRIES In addition, Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev has announced that Russia will send 500,000 tons of grain free of charge to the poorest countries already affected by the suspension of the Ukrainian grain export agreement.
Patrushev explained on Rossiya-24 TV that «since Russia has always been a reliable partner, it is ready to provide the necessary food.» «Our country is ready to supply up to 500,000 tons of grain to the poorest countries free of charge for the next four months. We will do this with the participation of our reliable partner Turkey,» he announced.
«If you look at the situation as a whole, taking into account this year’s harvest, the Russian Federation is fully ready to replace Ukrainian grain and send supplies at reasonable prices to all interested countries,» he has stressed.
The Russian Ministry of Agriculture has recently reported that 147.5 million tons of grain have already been harvested out of the total 150 million tons planned to be harvested by the end of 2022. Up to 100 million tons will be wheat.
AGREEMENT SAVED 100 MILLION FROM POVERTY UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday recalled his organization’s «unwavering» support for the indirect agreement reached in July between Russia and Ukraine to allow grain exports from Black Sea ports, a pact that has saved 100 million people from falling into extreme poverty.
The agreement, accompanied by a permit for the export of Russian fertilizer, was intended to avert «a global food crisis» that the United Nations is doing its utmost to prevent.
«Without the food and fertilizer not coming in right now, we are in for a dramatic effect on food production and food costs. Right now it’s a crisis about price. It could become a crisis of availability,» the secretary-general warned.
Under the agreement, a coalition of Turkish, Ukrainian and UN personnel oversees the loading of grain onto ships at the Ukrainian ports of Odessa, Chernomosk and Pivdenyi, before sailing a pre-planned route through the Black Sea.
The ships cross the Black Sea to the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey, where a joint coordination center has been set up in Istanbul, including representatives from the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey to ensure that ships entering Ukraine do not carry weapons or combat materiel.
The agreement has already facilitated the exit of nine million tons of grain and has contributed to significantly lowering the price of wheat, explained Guterres, who expected the renewal of the pact on November 19 «if no party objects».
«We call on all parties to make every effort to extend the agreement and implement it in all its aspects,» Guterres said before learning of Moscow’s announcement.
