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About 20 days before the end of the grain export agreement between Russia and Ukraine, Moscow suspended its approval “indefinitely”. The Kremlin triggered the Ukrainian naval attack on the Russian naval base in Sevastopol.

This mission, carried out early Saturday by remote-controlled explosive boats, is said to have damaged up to three Russian warships. International military analysts estimated serious damage to the frigate Admiral Makarov, Russia’s flagship replacement for the “Moskva”, which was sunk in the summer.

In contrast, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the attacks had been largely repulsed, with only one minesweeper sustaining minor damage.

As with the sabotage action against the Kerch Bridge, Ukraine did not claim responsibility. On the other hand, videos circulating from Ukrainian sources are said to show the attack from the perspective of the explosive boats and circulated on social networks this weekend.

World hunger as a Russian weapon of war again

Regardless of its military significance, the attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet once again made the global grain trade a plaything for Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine dismissed official Russian security concerns about continued grain exports as ludicrous. The sea corridor for the grain ships is more than 200 kilometers away from the explosions in Sevastopol, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted:

President Volodymyr Zelensky took the same line in his usual video address:

Countless Western countries responded with the same outrage. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell criticized that halting the export agreement would jeopardize “the main route for urgently needed grains and fertilizers” that could be used to alleviate the global hunger crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine, to deny.

Turkey wants to continue inspections on the Bosphorus

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on both warring parties to “keep this vital, life-saving initiative operational”. US President Joe Biden had previously described Russia’s actions on Saturday as “outrageous” and emphasized that this would lead to more hunger in the world.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also criticized Russia’s response to the ship attacks:

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday evening that it wanted to mediate on both sides to allow grain exports to continue. It is planned to continue inspections of the grain ships waiting for Istanbul on Monday or Tuesday.

Thanks to the grain deal that Turkey and the UN concluded in the summer, the Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain export ports that lasted a month came to an end. According to Turkish information, 9.3 million tons of grain have been shipped since then. The ships are checked every time they pass through the Bosphorus Strait. (aargauerzeitung.ch)