Moscow halted the implementation of the UN-mediated pact after more than 9 million tons of grain were exported from Ukraine; to relieve the global food crisis.
When Did Russian Defense Pull Out?
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russia pulled out of the deal after Ukrainian drones allegedly attacked Russian Black Sea Fleet ships moored off the coast of seized Crimea. It was reported that the incident occurred early Saturday morning in Russia, but Ukraine has refuted this.
Since “the Russian side cannot ensure the safety of civilian dry cargo ships participating in the Black Sea initiative,” the Russian statement claimed, “its execution from now onwards for an indeterminate time has been suspended.” This was in response to the activities of Ukrainian military forces.
Who Got Impacted By this Food Crisis?
Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the United States issued a statement in which he said, “In suspending this arrangement. Russia is again weaponizing food in the war it started, directly impacting low- and middle-income countries and global food prices. Additionally, the exacerbating already dire humanitarian crises and food insecurity.”
The United States, according to Blinken, “urges the Government of Russia to restart its participation in the Initiative, fully comply with the agreement. Also they seek to ensure that people throughout the globe continue to be able to realize the advantages afforded by the Initiative.”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had pushed Russia and Ukraine to continue the grain pact the day before Russia made its announcement.
How Many Ship Transportation are Stacked Up?
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, said that Russia’s action was “expected.” According to The Associated Press, he said that since September, Moscow had been “blockading” ships transporting grain. According to him, there are already 176 ships stacked up at sea carrying almost 2 million tons of food.
Zelenskyy said in Saturday night’s video message that Russia was trying to bring back the danger of widespread starvation in Africa and Asia. He demanded that the United Nations and the Group of Twenty (G-20) take strong action against Russia.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told reporters in Delaware on Sunday that Russia’s decision to cancel its participation in the Ukrainian grain agreement was “purely ridiculous” and would lead to more people going hungry. Biden has said, “There is no validity to what they are doing.” The United Nations negotiated the agreement, and that should be the end of it.
Discussion Between UN and Russians
A spokesman for the United Nations, Stephane Dujarric said on Saturday talks are ongoing between the UN and Russian officials.
According to Dujarric, “the Black Sea Grain Initiative is a major humanitarian endeavor that is obviously having a good influence on the availability to food for millions of people throughout the globe,”. Thus everyone involved must avoid doing anything that may jeopardize it.
A Joint Coordination Center statement said the organization was “analyzing recent events, debating future measures, and reviewing the impact on JCC’s operations.”
During a press conference on Saturday, Ukraine’s foreign minister accused Russia of adopting a “false pretext” to pull out of the Black Sea grain corridor.
Russia’s first deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky, said on Saturday that Russia had sought a meeting of the U.N. Security Council. As reported by Associated Press on Monday, they are to discuss the alleged assault on the Black Sea Fleet and the security of the grain corridor.
What are the Charges Against the Accused?
Russia’s defence minister has accused Britain’s navy of sabotaging gas pipelines carrying supplies to Europe by blowing them up last month. However, Moscow has offered no proof to back up the allegations.
As a response to the allegations, the British government said on Saturday, “To divert from their poor conduct of the unlawful invasion of Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense resorts to peddling false accusations of an epic magnitude.”
Russia says that on Saturday morning, Ukrainian drones were directed against Russian ships in Crimea by the same “British professionals” who planned, supplied, and carried out a terrorist operation in the Baltic Sea on September 26.
According to Igor Konashenkov, chief spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, “at 4:20 a.m. The Kyiv regime carried out a terrorist attack on ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian ships. This was on the outer and inner roadsteads” of the Sevastopol base. Russia’s armed forces responded by destroying the air targets.
According to Konashenkov, the attacking ships from the Black Sea Fleet were protecting “the grain corridor”. As part of a global effort to facilitate the export of grain and other agricultural goods from Ukrainian ports.
In Closing
On Friday, Swedish lead prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said of the broken gas pipeline. “I’ve decided together with the security police to carry out a number of additional investigations at the scene of the crime.”
Swedish armed forces are currently conducting a mine sweep around the two broken Nord Stream pipelines. Explosions caused four breaches on Nord Stream 2 and 1 in Sweden and Denmark, which world leaders have condemned as sabotage.
Feature image: Pixabay
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