Russian officials reneged on its deal with Ukraine clearing the Black Sea for grain exports, after it claimed Ukraine led a drone strike on its Crimean naval fleet—threatening what officials warn could become a global food crisis.
Russian officials on Saturday also accused the British Navy of participating in the “planning, support and implementation of a terrorist attack” on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, which suffered leaks into the Baltic Sea last month. Moscow officials claim Western countries conducted a cover-up, Russian state news agency TASS reported, with Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming Western countries have “something to hide.” A Swedish Security Service preliminary investigation released earlier this month determined the pipelines connecting Russia and Germany were blown up, although it did not name a culprit. President Joe Biden had called the leak a “deliberate act of sabotage,” adding Russia is “pumping out disinformation and lies”—Moscow fiercely denied having been involved.
Britain’s Defence Ministry, in response, denied the allegations in a tweet, calling Russia’s claims an “invented story” it could use to “detract from their disastrous handling of the illegal invasion of Ukraine.”
Officials from Russia and Ukraine struck a deal with the U.N. and Turkey in July to lift Russia’s naval blockade in the Black Sea, allowing Ukrainian vessels to guide grain ships out of its port cities, with Turkey responsible for inspecting the ships, which Russian officials had warned could be filled with smuggled arms. Ukrainian officials had signaled Russia’s blockade could cause a sharp rise in food prices, with President Volodymyr Zelensky arguing it could spark protests, famine and mass migration as the world is “teetering on the cusp of a food security crisis.” Russia’s naval blockade off Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, as well as a slew of infrastructure challenges, had kept nearly 25 million tons of grain stuck inside the country, according to Josef Schmidhuber, of the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization.
The Big Number: 6 million. That’s how many tons of grain Ukraine had been shipping outside the country each month before Putin launched the invasion in February, according to the Ukrainian Grain Association. Its exports plummeted to 300,000 tons in March and roughly 1 million in April and 1.7 million in May.
This article was first published on forbes.com
Further Reading
Russia suspends its participation in UN-brokered grain export deal with Ukraine (CNN)
Russia halts Ukraine Black Sea grain exports, citing attack on Crimea (Reuters)
Ukraine Strikes Deal With Russia To Resume Grain Exports Amid Fears Of Food Crisis (Forbes)