Russia blocks grain exports again
Russia is once again blocking grain exports from Ukraine, but the United Nations is not giving up hopes of upholding the shipping agreement. “We are in contact with the Russian authorities about this,” a UN spokesman said in New York on Saturday. Grain exports through Ukraine’s Black Sea ports ensure that millions of people around the world have access to bread. “It is imperative that all parties refrain from any action that jeopardizes the Grains Agreement.”
Moscow on Saturday suspended approval of exports after drone strikes against ships of the Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol. Moscow is thus increasing world hunger, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He called for Russia’s exclusion from the group of 20 major industrialized and emerging countries (G20).
UN Secretary-General Guterres receives mail from Moscow
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has officially informed Russia of the suspension of the grain deal. Due to drone strikes on Russian ships from the Black Sea Protected Corridor, Russia “cannot guarantee the safety of civilian ships traveling under the above initiative,” Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebensia wrote to Guterres. . The letter was available from the German news agency. Amir Abdulla, the UN coordinator for the export of Ukrainian grain, was also informed by the Russian side. According to him, nine ships crossed the maritime corridor set up as part of the deal on Saturday.
Moscow has suspended the July agreement “indefinitely” because of the attacks. In addition, Russia has requested a UN Security Council meeting on the matter for Monday, according to sources in the United Nations’ most powerful body. The grain deal was initially closed for four months until November. Moscow has recently repeatedly criticized the agreement for seeing its own grain exports slowed down by sanctions imposed by the West in the course of its war against Ukraine.
The main developments about the war in the live ticker:
Zelenskyj: The Kremlin decides on world hunger
Since September, Russia has postponed inspections of ships sailing through the Bosphorus, which are being conducted jointly with the UN, Turkey and Ukraine, Zelensky said. There, 176 ships with about two million tons of grain were stuck in traffic. “Why can a handful of people somewhere in the Kremlin decide whether to put food on the table in Egypt or Bangladesh?”
A strong response is needed from the United Nations, but also from the G20. “Russia does not belong in the G20,” Zelenskyj said in his evening video address. Under a pretext, Moscow is blocking transports “which mean food security for millions of people,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba criticized.
US President Joe Biden called Russia’s actions on Saturday outrageous and stressed it would cause more hunger in the world. “Russia is once again using food as a weapon in the war it started,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized. He called on the Russian government to once again honor the agreement on the safe passage of Ukrainian grain shipments.
Attack on Russian ships in Sevastopol
Russia accused Ukraine of the nighttime attacks on Black Sea fleet ships in Sevastopol, Crimea. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced in Moscow that it was being supported by British instructors. According to Moscow, nine flying drones were used in the attack and seven swimming drones – unmanned remotely operated boats. They were all shot. According to official information, the minesweeper “Ivan Golubets” and some port facilities were damaged. However, video footage allegedly showing the attack suggests more ships may have been hit.
Despite the fighting, both sides again exchanged 50 POWs each on Saturday. More than 1,000 Ukrainian prisoners have been brought home since the start of the war, Zelensky said.
Slovenia supplies tanks to Ukraine
According to media reports in Ljubljana, Slovenia has handed over 28 modernized Soviet M55S tanks to Ukraine. For this, the EU and NATO member will receive 35 strong military trucks and 5 tankers from Germany. It is one of the so-called ring exchange projects, where Germany does not directly help Ukraine, but the NATO partners who give technology to Kiev.
Germany handed over 16 generators to generate electricity as civilian aid, as the German embassy in Kiev announced. Ukraine’s power grid suffers major damage from ongoing Russian airstrikes. There are repeated power cuts across the country to save energy and stabilize the grid.
Ukrainian ambassador against asylum for conscientious objectors
The new Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin, Oleksii Makeiev, has warned against the inclusion of Russian conscientious objectors. “It would be wrong for Germany to take in Russian deserters,” the Bild am Sonntag said. He called these Russians a security risk.
The refugees of the partial mobilization ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin are “young men who have no regrets” but wanted to avoid military service, Makeiev said. The federal government announced in mid-October that the decision-making practice of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees on the admission of Russian conscientious objectors is currently under review.
Makeiev has officially been the new ambassador of his country in Germany since Monday, succeeding Andriy Melnyk. (sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
