The Grain Agreement is coming to an end – the night at a glance 29 cartoons that summarize a crazy week

In Ukraine, almost a year after its entry into force, the grain agreement expires on Monday. Meanwhile, the counteroffensive continues. The night in brief:

The Grain Agreement expires

Almost a year after its entry into force, the agreement to ship Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea expires next Monday. The grain deal, which has been painstakingly negotiated, mainly with the help of Turkey and the United Nations, will expire at 11pm CEST if no agreement is reached. Russian President Vladimir Putin had recently proposed a suspension of the agreement, which is also important for the fight against world hunger, until Moscow’s demands are met. The agreement has been in effect since July 22, 2022.

For about a year now, Russia has been demanding that Western sanctions be relaxed so it can export unlimited quantities of its own grain and fertilizer. When the deal expires, Ukraine’s Black Sea ports will be blocked, as was the case after the outbreak of war in February last year, from which cargo ships carrying corn and wheat, for example, would no longer be able to depart.

«We extend the time when the promises made to us are fulfilled»Putin said last week. Russia is prepared to wait as long as necessary. The procedure that has been running for about a year now, that it is first extended and only then the promises are fulfilled, no longer suits Moscow. The West had a year to comply, the Kremlin boss said.

The deal allowed Ukraine, one of the world’s leading grain exporters before the war, to ship 33 million tons in the past 12 months. On Sunday, one of the last ships may have left the port of Odessa, the freighter “TQ Samsun”. According to the UN, it is loaded with more than 15,000 tons of rapeseed.

In a phone call over the weekend, Putin pointed out to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that there was no reason to extend the agreement. During the talks initiated by Ramaphosa, Putin also said that the main purpose of the agreement, to supply countries in need on the African continent, for example, had not been implemented, the Kremlin said.

In particular, Moscow complains that punitive measures against the Russian state agricultural bank mean that exports of its own grain and fertilizer cannot be processed on the desired scale. There are also problems with insuring the cargo.

The blockade of grain exports was only ended by the agreement on July 22, 2022. The agreement ended a month-long Russian naval blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. The United Nations has urged all parties to renew the agreement to ensure global food security.

“Emergency” on the bridge from Russia to occupied Crimea

About nine months after the massive explosion at the Kerch Bridge between Russia and the Moscow-occupied Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula in Crimea, an “emergency” occurred there, according to Russian sources. Traffic was therefore halted in the area of ​​the bridge’s 145th pillar, the head of occupied Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said on Telegram on Monday, according to state news agency TASS. He gave no information about the nature of the “emergency”.

The approximately 19-kilometer-long Kerch Bridge to Crimea was severely damaged in an explosion in October 2022, but has been repaired. At the end of May, the Ukrainian secret service admitted involvement in the explosion for the first time.

Aksyonov urged residents to remain calm. Residents of the region and tourists must choose an alternative land route through the Russian-occupied regions of southern Ukraine. There are repeated drone strikes from the Ukrainian side on the peninsula. Kiev has announced its intention to retake Crimea. Despite the tense security situation and lengthy checks, Russian holidaymakers are once again being lured en masse to Crimea, which according to media reports from Russia can only be reached by train or car.

Baerbock: No one can go unpunished in an offensive war

Meanwhile, efforts continue at the international level to hold Russia accountable for its war of aggression. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is counting on a reform of international law so that those responsible for an aggressive war, such as Russian President Putin, are held accountable. “In the 21st century, no one should wage a war of aggression and go unpunished,” the Green politician demanded before a trip to New York on Sunday. There she wants to participate in a ceremony at the United Nations (UN) to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). A speech at the UN Security Council is also planned.

“In the eyes of the perpetrators, the ICC is already a sharp sword,” said Baerbock. In the eyes of the victims, he is the hope that their suffering will not go unpunished. “That is why a gap in law enforcement is especially painful,” said the minister. In the case of crimes of aggression against “the most precious asset we have: our peace”, the obstacles to prosecution are still too high. “That is why we want to further develop international law together with partners, so that it does justice to our reality in the 21st century.”

During a visit to the court’s headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, in January, Baerbock had already proposed changing the court’s legal basis to allow the offense of aggressive war to be prosecuted without restriction. It should be sufficient if the victim state of an aggression falls under the jurisdiction of the court. Currently, only the UN Security Council can take the matter to court, as neither Russia nor Ukraine are contracting parties. As a permanent member, Russia has veto power in the Security Council.

Monday will be important

In Ukraine, the counter-offensive to liberate the Russian-occupied areas in the east and south of the country continues. Kiev has not yet succeeded in breaking through, mainly due to the reclamation of the areas and the anti-tank barriers on the Russian defense lines. (sda/dpa)