A portion of the pipeline transporting ammonia, a raw material for fertilizer, from Russia to Ukraine was recently destroyed. The collapse of the Kahouka dam has resulted in widespread flooding of farmland, raising concerns about disruptions in grain and fertilizer exports from Ukraine and Russia.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on the 7th that Ukrainian operatives had blown up part of an ammonia pipeline that runs from Tolyatti in western Russia to Ukraine’s Black Sea coast.
The Togliatti-Odesa pipeline, which is the world%27s longest ammonia pipeline, stopped operating following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.https://t.co/XrFqj7nx7d
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) June 8, 2023
The Ministry of National Defense said in a statement that day, “A pipeline was destroyed in the Masiutyuka region of Kharkiv, Ukraine, on the night of the 5th,” adding that it was “the work of a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group.”
This pipeline is the world’s largest ammonia transportation facility.
■ Ukraine “because of Russian air raids”
The Ukrainian side also confirmed that the pipeline was destroyed. But Russia refuted it.
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Sinehuvou said on social media on the 7th that “the pipeline was destroyed because of the Russian airstrike.”
The Kharkiv region, where the pipeline was destroyed, shares a border with the Belgorod region of mainland Russia, where armed groups of Russians helping Ukraine are fighting against Russian forces.
In this area, attacks using field artillery and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) are frequent.
Northeastern Kharkiv and other major Ukrainian regions
The pipeline is a 2,470-kilometer-long facility that runs from Tolyatti in Russia to Yuzhne, a port city on the Black Sea coast in Ukraine.
Russia sent ammonia to the port of Piudeni in Yuzhne through this pipeline and then exported it to the world by ship.
However, Ukraine stopped the operation of pipelines after Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24 last year, which has disrupted Russia’s exports of fertilizer raw materials.
Russia is the world’s number one nitrogen fertilizer exporter.
■ Black Sea Grain Agreement Crisis
The destruction of the pipeline is expected to act as an obstacle to extending and expanding the Black Sea grain agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
Russia has called for the pipeline to be restarted and has said it will not extend the Black Sea Grain Agreement, which was extended by two months last month, if the demand is not met.
As the conflict over this escalated, the United Nations proposed a new agreement to the two countries at the end of last month, allowing exports of ammonia from Russia and expanding grain exports to Ukraine.
See also: “UN Proposes Export of Russian Fertilizer Raw Materials”
■ Scheduled to negotiate on the 9th
Russia and the United Nations are scheduled to hold negotiations on the extension of the Black Sea Grain Agreement in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 9th.
Russia and Ukraine concluded an agreement in July of last year to guarantee the safety of grain exporters in the Black Sea through the mediation of the United Nations and Turkey, as the world food crisis escalated due to the blockade of the Black Sea after the war.
Ukraine and Russia are major exporters of wheat and corn.
The agreement was extended three times until last month. However, Russia is threatening to withdraw if the agreement is not properly respected, including allowing exports of Russian grain and fertilizer, which are part of the agreement.
In particular, Russia’s main demand is to resume the operation of Russian ammonia pipelines and boost fertilizer exports.
At the negotiating table on the 9th, the pipeline destruction incident is expected to be a major issue.
A new variable came to mind ahead of the discussion of the new agreement.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on the 7th: “We will try to find out what happened, but I can say that Ukraine is the only country that has not been at all interested in restarting the pipeline.”
“This pipeline is a very important part of the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Agreement,” he said, adding that it would take at least one to three months to repair the pipeline.
In addition, it was revealed that the pipeline has transported 2 million tons of raw materials needed for fertilizer production every year, emphasizing that it is “crucial for global food security.”
■ WFP warns of food crisis
If it becomes difficult to extend the Black Sea Grain Agreement due to the destruction of the pipeline, the global food crisis is expected to escalate again as grain production is disrupted due to the destruction of the Kahouka Dam in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine.
In the early morning of the 6th, the main part of the Kahouka Dam in the city of Nova Kahouka, Kherson Region, southern Ukraine, collapsed due to an unknown explosion.
See also: ‘Structure that can withstand a nuclear bomb’ Why did Ukraine’s dam collapse…Russia’s intentional self-destruction weighs on
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned in a statement on the 7th that “thousands of hr (hectares) of agricultural land have been flooded, destroying recently planted crops, so the destruction of the dams will impact food security.”
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) warned on the 7th that flooding following the collapse of the Kahouka Dam could threaten the world’s food supply.
Martin Frick, head of the WFP’s Berlin office, told the dpa news agency that “the collapse of the dam caused massive flooding and damaged newly planted crops”. added.
International grain prices are also starting to soar.
Wheat prices rose 2.4% to $6.39 per bushel (27.2 kg) at the beginning of the opening on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on the 6th, when the fact of the dam collapse was first known.
Corn was trading at $6, up more than 1%. Oat prices also rose by $3.46 per bushel.
■ Zelensky visits the submerged site of the dam destruction
On the 8th, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Kherson region, which was flooded due to the destruction of the Kahouka dam.
We met with local officials, were briefed, and visited medical facilities to comfort the injured and sick from the flooding.
President Zelensky wrote on Telegram that day in Kherson that “many important issues were discussed.”
Specifically, it said, “We discussed the operational status of the area due to the disaster, the evacuation of residents from potentially flooded areas, the lifting of the emergency due to the dam explosion, and the organization of livelihood support for flooded areas.”
“Also discussed were the prospects for the restoration of the region’s ecosystem and the military operational situation in the man-made disaster area,” Zelensky added.
■ Expansion of damage to flooded areas
After the collapse of the Kahouka Dam, the damage to the surrounding area is rapidly expanding.
In particular, the situation is aggravated by the destruction of the irrigation system that waters agricultural land in Kherson and Zaporizhia near the Dnipro River, a key water source in southern Ukraine.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned in a statement on the 7th that “thousands of hr (hectares) of agricultural land have been flooded, destroying recently planted crops, so the destruction of the dams will impact food security.”
The Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry estimates that about 10,000 hr of agricultural land was flooded in its own controlled areas near the Dnipro River.
The World Bank said today that it will assist the Ukrainian government with a quick assessment of the damage caused by the dam breach.
On the same day (7th), representatives of UN-affiliated organizations in Ukraine gathered in Kherson to assess the extent of the damage and coordinate humanitarian response.
UN Secretary-General Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that representatives of five organizations, including the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and several non-governmental organizations, were conducting an on-site assessment.
■ “Effect of drinking water for millions of people”
Hundreds of thousands of people depended on Kahouka’s water storage facility for drinking water. Another problem was the rapid drop in water levels following a dam collapse.
In addition, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine announced on the 7th that not only fish deaths, but also chemicals and pathogens entering drinking water in flooded areas are concerned about the spread of food poisoning.
“Given the scale of the disaster, it will inevitably affect the supply of drinking water and agricultural water to millions of people from the coming summer,” said Greenpeace, an international environmental organization.
While tens of thousands of people in flooded areas lost their homes and fled, local media reported that isolated people were waiting for rescuers.
Local media said at least three people had died in the flooded area.
This is VOA News Jongsu Oh.
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2023-06-08 08:37:19
