Russia is ending its participation in the United Nations-led grain deal with Ukraine. This was announced by the Russian defense ministry today (Saturday, October 29). The current deal ran until mid-November and talks about an extension were underway.
Russia accuses Ukraine of carrying out drone attacks on the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol early this morning. "Taking into account the terrorist act of the Kiev government -with the participation of British experts- against the ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian ships involved in ensuring the security of the 'grain corridor', the Russian side suspends participation to the implementation of agreements on the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. The ministry initially denied that any ships had been damaged and reported that the attacks were on the city. Russia later announced that ships had been hit, but that damage to the Russian fleet was limited.
Russia offers replacement grain
The Russian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement today saying that the safety of civilian dry bulk carriers in the Black Sea, sailing under the terms of the grain deal, can no longer be guaranteed. The Turkish authorities, who played an important role in concluding the deal, were also informed about this. The Russian Ministry of Agriculture said earlier today that Russia is ready to make up to 500.000 tons of grain available to the world's poorest countries in the coming months, with the help of Turkey to replace Ukrainian grain. "Taking into account this year's harvest, the Russian Federation is fully prepared to replace Ukrainian grain and Russia can supply interested countries at affordable prices," Deputy Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev said earlier today.
Russia has long been critical of how the grain deal works out in practice. According to the Kremlin, the current deal does not do enough to keep the export of Russian grain and Russian fertilizers going. The fact that the current deal is now being canceled comes as a surprise to many analysts. On Wednesday, the responsible UN chief executive Martin Griffiths said he was 'relatively optimistic' about the chances that the deal would be extended. The trade itself also sounded quite optimistic about a possible extension or other solution to keep grain exports from Ukraine going. Ukraine accuses Russia of blackmail and 'fabricated terror attacks' on its own territory after the explosions in Crimea.