Russia bombards east Ukraine, sees grain exports sanction easing

The West is mulling lifting restrictions on Russian grains export

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AFP) — Russian shelling pounded eastern and southern Ukraine Tuesday as President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would only ease the path for Black Sea exports of Ukrainian grain if the West lifts sanctions on Russian shipments.

Russian strikes hit the eastern city of Kramatorsk on Tuesday, killing one person, local authorities said.

AFP journalists said a fourstory residential building had been hit in the city in the Donbas region. One man with a bloodied head lay on the ground, before being taken away by the emergency services.

“He was just walking by and was hit,” said one woman, who declined to give her name, visibly shaken after the bombardment.

A four-story residential building had been hit.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February has killed thousands and displaced millions from their homes, but also hampered shipments from one of the world’s biggest exporters of wheat and other grain, sparking fears of global food shortages.

Putin, in Tehran for talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Tuesday said “progress” had been made in discussions towards exporting grain from Ukraine.

After talks with both Erdogan and Iran’s president, Putin told reporters that any deal hinged on the West’s willingness to yield some ground.

“We will facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain, but we are proceeding from the fact that all restrictions related to air deliveries for the export of Russian grain will be lifted,” he said.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization member Turkey has been using its good relations with both the Kremlin and Kyiv to try to broker an agreement on a safe way to deliver the grain.

On Wednesday, Russian and Ukrainian delegations are due to meet in Istanbul alongside Turkish and United Nations representatives, with hopes rising for an announced accord.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned this week that the grain impasse was “an issue of life and death for many human beings.”

And a document consulted by AFP Tuesday showed that the European Commission is proposing to unblock assets at Russian banks linked to trade in food and fertilizer.