Russia suspends the supply of grain to Ukraine due to the statement about the attack on the ship

Russia announced on Saturday that it would immediately suspend the execution of a Grain deal brokered by the UN from which more than 9 million tons of grain were exported Ukraine during the war and led to a sharp rise in world food prices.

The Ministry of Defense of Russia called the reason for this move an alleged attack by a Ukrainian drone against ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which were stationed off the coast of the occupied Crimea. Ukraine denies the attack, saying the Russians mishandled their own weapons.

The Russian declaration came a day after UN chief Antonio Guterres called on Russia and Ukraine to renew a grain export agreement that was due to expire on November 19. Guterres also called on other countries, mainly in the West, to accelerate the elimination of obstacles blocking Russian exports of grain and fertilizers.

The UN chief said the grain deal — brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July — was helping to “alleviate the suffering this global cost-of-living crisis is inflicting on billions of people,” his spokesman said.

UN representatives contacted the Russian authorities regarding the announced suspension.

“It is vital that all parties refrain from any action that would jeopardize the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which is a critical humanitarian effort that clearly has a positive impact on access to food for millions of people,” said the UN spokesperson. Stefan Duzharyk.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Saturday accused British specialists of being involved in an alleged drone attack on Russian ships in Crimea. The British Ministry of Defense did not comment on this statement.

“In connection with the actions of the Ukrainian armed forces led by British specialists, directed, among other things, against Russian ships that ensure the functioning of the humanitarian corridor (which cannot be qualified otherwise as a terrorist attack), the Russian side cannot guarantee the safety of civilian dry cargoes participating in the Black Sea initiative, and suspends its implementation from today for an indefinite period,” the Russian statement said.

The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine said that Ukraine has never threatened the Black Sea grain corridor, which is “purely humanitarian” and will continue to try to support supplies. According to him, since the first ship left the port of Odessa on August 1, more than 9 million tons of food products have been exported, including more than 5 million tons to countries in Africa and Asia. According to the report, 190,000 tons of wheat were sent to countries experiencing famine as part of the UN World Food Program.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmitry Kuleba, accused Russia of “hunger games”, endangering the world’s food supply.

“We warned about Russia’s plans to destroy (the grain agreement). Now, under false pretenses, Moscow is blocking the grain corridor that provides food security for millions of people,” he tweeted on Saturday.

The head of the administration of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak condemned the suspension as part of “primitive blackmail” by Russia.

Turkish officials said they had not yet received official notice of the suspension of the deal.

Russia also requested a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday over the alleged attack on the Black Sea Fleet and the security of the grain corridor, said Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s first deputy representative to the UN. This will be the fourth meeting of the UN Security Council. on issues related to Ukraine, which Russia has called since Tuesday.

The Minister of Agriculture of Russia said that Moscow is ready to “completely replace Ukrainian grain and supply it at affordable prices to all interested countries.” Dmitrii Patrushev said on the air of the state television channel “Russia 24” that Moscow is ready “to deliver up to 500,000 tons of grain to the poorest countries for free in the next four months” with the help of Turkey.

Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine and Russia issued different versions of a drone attack in Crimea that damaged at least one Russian ship in Sevastopol, a port on the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the minesweeper suffered “minor damage” during Ukraine’s alleged dawn attack on naval and civilian ships docked in Sevastopol, home to the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. The ministry said that Russian troops “repulsed” 16 attacking drones.

The governor of the Sevastopol region, Mikhail Razvozhaev, said that the port was subjected to a “massive attack” by air and sea drones. He offered no evidence, saying all video from the area would be confiscated for security reasons.

But the adviser of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine stated that “careless handling of explosives” caused the explosion on four warships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Anton Gerashchenko wrote on Telegram that the ships included a frigate, an amphibious assault ship and a cruise missile ship that were used in the deadly attack on the city in western Ukraine in July.

Also on Saturday, Russian troops evacuated a large number of sick and wounded comrades from hospitals in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region and stripped them of medical equipment, Ukrainian officials said, as their forces fought to retake the province.

Kremlin-appointed authorities in the mostly Russian-occupied region urged civilians to leave the city of Kherson, the regional capital — and reportedly joined the tens of thousands who fled to other Russian-controlled areas.

“The so-called evacuation of invaders from the temporarily occupied territory of the Kherson region, including from medical institutions, continues,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that the Russians are “dismantling the entire healthcare system” in Kherson and other occupied areas.

“The occupiers decided to close medical facilities in cities, take away equipment, ambulances. Everything,” said Zelensky.

Kherson region is one of the four regions of Ukraine occupied by Russian President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed last month and where is he then martial law is declared. The rest are Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporozhye.

As Kiev’s troops sought to conquer the south, Russia continued shelling and missile attacks in the east of the country. Three more civilians were killed and eight wounded in the Donetsk region, a frontline hotspot as Russian soldiers try to capture the town of Bakhmut, a key target in Russia’s stalled eastern offensive.

Russian shelling also hit an industrial building in southern Ukraine’s Zaporozhye region. About a quarter of the region — including the capital — remains under the control of Ukraine.

According to Yermak, during the last exchange of prisoners, 50 Ukrainian servicemen, including two former defenders of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, and two civilians were released on Saturday as part of the exchange with Russia. Russia received 50 Russian soldiers.