Russia putting grain deal on hold
Accuses Ukraine of attacks; Britain says claims false
Russia suspended its participation in the UN-brokered deal that allowed Ukraine to export its grain and other agricultural products from Black Sea ports after claiming that Kyiv used the corridor to attack Kremlin ships, reigniting concerns about global food insecurity.
The Russian military accused Ukrainian forces of using drones to attack ‘‘military and civilian’’ ships near Sevastopol in Crimea in the early hours of Saturday, claiming that the strikes were carried out ‘‘with the participation of British experts.’’
The Russian Foreign Ministry said separately that because of the attacks it would ‘‘no longer guarantee the safety of civilian dry cargo ships participating in the Black Sea Grain Initiative and will suspend its implementation from today for an indefinite period.’’
Britain responded to the drone attacks accusation by saying that Russia was making ‘‘false claims of an epic scale.’’ Ukraine did not officially claim responsibility for the attacks.
A video that emerged on Ukrainian Telegram channels on Saturday showed a naval drone targeting what appeared to be the Russian Admiral Makarov frigate. The Makarov had reportedly replaced the flagship of the Russian navy’s Black Sea fleet, Moskva, which sank in April after Ukrainian forces hit it with Neptune anti-ship missiles. The Post was not able to independently verify the authenticity of the video.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the drone attacks were largely repelled and only one minesweeper sustained minor damage.
Moscow and Kyiv signed the grain deal in July, opening up Ukrainian Black Sea ports for exports, which had been halted after Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24.
Turkey played a key role in brokering the deal, as it has close ties with Russia and Ukraine and has sought to raise its diplomatic profile to mediate the talks between warring sides.
As part of the deal, Ukrainian pilots guided ships through the port, which Ukraine mined earlier in the war to prevent Russia from capturing key ports such as Odessa.
Then the ships were given safe passage by the Russian military to sail to Turkey, which organized teams with experts from all involved parties to inspect the vessels before they set off to their destinations. Ships going into Ukraine were also inspected for weapons, a condition Moscow set to ensure the grain corridor is not used to supply Western arms to Ukraine.
More than 8 million tons of grain were exported from Ukraine as part of the deal that saw global food prices go down, according to the United Nations.
Negotiations over an extension of the deal were strained even before the ship attacks, as Moscow had indicated it may back out of the deal after repeated complaints about its implementation.
In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin floated the idea of limiting the deal, saying that the goods went to the European Union rather than to poor countries experiencing dire food shortages.
After the explosion on the strategic bridge linking Crimea with mainland Russia in early October, Putin speculated that the grain corridor might have been used by Ukrainian special services to attack the highly symbolic gateway. If proven, he suggested, it would jeopardize the agreement.