Russia halts grain deal after Ukraine attack on Black Sea fleet
Russia has suspended its participation in a Turkey- and UN-brokered deal signed in July that allowed Ukraine to export its grain shipment from the Black Sea.
The Russians said they took the decision after Ukrainian forces launched a "massive" drone attack on its Black Sea fleet.
“The Russian side suspends participation in the implementation of agreements on the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports,” the country's defense ministry said in a statement.
Russia’s defense ministry said the British navy's “specialists” had helped coordinate the “terrorist” attack near Sevastopol using 16 drones in the early hours of Saturday.
The same “specialists” were involved in explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month, it added.
The UK denied participation in the attacks, accusing the Russian ministry of defense of "resorting to peddling false claims of an epic scale”.
The Ukrainian side also said negotiations with the Russians were "a waste of time.”
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin has turned food, the cold and prices into weapons against the world … Russia is waging a hybrid war against Europe, taking Africa and the Middle East hostage,” presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.
The United Nations called for the preservation of the agreement, however.
“It is vital that all parties refrain from any action that would imperil the Black Sea Grain Initiative which is a critical humanitarian effort,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general.
He said the UN chief’s office was in touch with Russian authorities over the issue.
US President Joe Biden called the move "purely outrageous" while Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Moscow was "weaponizing food".
Russia has slammed the United States for "blackmail" by blocking worldwide Russian export of food and fertilizer, causing a risk to global food security.
The United States and its European allies have spearheaded worldwide sanctions against Russia, stopping business with Russian companies and cutting some Russian banks off the international banking system.
Since Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine on February 24, it has become the world’s most-sanctioned country.
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