Moscow announced on Monday the “de facto” end of the Ukrainian grain export deal, deemed crucial for world food, hours after a night attack by the Ukrainian army with naval drones against the strategic bridge of Crimea. “The Black Sea agreement has de facto ended today,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that “as soon as the part (of the agreements) concerning Russia is satisfied, Russia will immediately revert to the grain deal.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that kyiv was willing to continue grain exports via the Black Sea despite Moscow’s announcement. “Even without Russia, everything must be done so that we can use this corridor (for exports) in the Black Sea. We are not afraid,” Volodymyr Zelensky said, in comments shared by his spokesperson Serguii Nykyforov on Facebook.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly denounced the obstacles to the export of Russian food products and fertilizers, which was to accompany that of Ukrainian products. He also judged on Saturday that “the main objective of the agreement, the delivery of cereals to countries in need, in particular on the African continent” was “not achieved”.
The announcement comes hours before the deal expires at midnight (9 p.m.) in Istanbul. Signed in July 2022 on the banks of the Bosphorus and already renewed twice, the agreement allowing Ukraine to export its cereals by the Black Sea has made it possible, over the past year, to release nearly 33 million tonnes grain from Ukrainian ports, despite the conflict.
Turkey, Ukraine and the UN have been notified of the Kremlin’s decision, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Despite the Kremlin’s announcement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was convinced that his “friend Mr. Putin wants to pursue the agreement” allowing the export of grain from Ukraine to the Black Sea.
The Kremlin’s announcement comes hours after a Ukrainian naval drone attack hit the Crimean Bridge, linking Russia with the annexed Crimean peninsula in 2014, and killed two civilians. The Kremlin spokesperson, however, assured that the decision not to renew the agreement and the attack were not “related”, explaining that “even before this attack, this was President Putin’s position”. .
Russian Senate Speaker Sergei Mironov said Moscow should retaliate by attacking Ukrainian infrastructure and stopping negotiations on the grain deal. “That’s what we need to do, not discuss a grain deal that helps Kyiv rulers and their Western masters line their pockets,” he said.
Silence and discretion surrounded all weekend the last-ditch maneuvers led by Turkey and the UN to convince Moscow to extend the grain agreement. According to official data from the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) overseeing the deal in Istanbul, China and Turkey are the primary beneficiaries of the shipments, along with developed economies. But thanks to the agreement, the World Food Program (WFP) was able to relieve a dozen countries in critical situation such as Afghanistan, Sudan or Yemen.
