Russia withdrew earlier this week from the grain agreement, which since last summer has secured grain deliveries to the global markets. Russian authorities say from Thursday they will consider all ships sailing to Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea as potential carriers of military equipment.
Whether it is a hoax or not, time will probably tell. Ukraine has decided to put hard against hard.
– We are ready to take any risk, says Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in an interview with the magazine Time.
Ukraine and President Zelenskyi have been absolutely clear that they will continue grain exports. Kuleba acknowledges the risk this entails, and says the civilian vessels are at risk of being hit and sunk by both missiles and mines.
– We don’t want to put anyone’s life in danger, says Kuleba to Time, but adds that they are still ready to test the limits.
The prices of grain and wheat shot up after the news that Russia would put the grain agreement on hold on Monday. Ukraine’s foreign minister is not surprised by Putin’s decision:
– By terminating the grain agreement, they are killing two birds with one stone. The decision not only threatens an important source of income for Ukraine’s war-torn economy, it also opens the door for Russia to sell its own grain at higher prices on the global market. Behind all this diplomatic obfuscation, the Russians are just trying to make more money, claims Kuleba.
Read also: Kremlin with new threats: – All vessels in the direction of Ukrainian ports are considered military ships
Russia with threats against shipping in the Black Sea
In an announcement on the Telegram messaging service on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said it was declaring the southeastern and northwestern parts of international waters in the Black Sea unfit for shipping.
Furthermore, it states that the flag states of ships sailing to Ukrainian ports will henceforth be considered parties to the conflict on the Ukrainian side. A flag state is the country in which a ship is registered.
The decision will apply from midnight to Thursday local time, the announcement states.
– The Russian military may expand its attacks against Ukrainian grain facilities to include attacks against civilian shipping, says Adam Hodge to AFP.
He says the US is basing this on recently declassified intelligence.
Over the past two nights, Russia has attacked the port region of Odesa, which under the grain agreement was the departure point for Ukrainian ships with grain.
According to Russia, the attacks on Odesa are aimed at military targets, but Hodge supports the claims from Ukraine that the attacks have destroyed agricultural infrastructure and 60,000 tons of grain that were ready for export.
– At the same time, the information we have indicates that Russia has laid additional sea mines near Ukrainian ports. We believe this has been done to justify any attack against civilian ships in the Black Sea and to blame Ukraine for these attacks, says Hodge.
New Russian attacks against Ukrainian port cities
A total of 20 people are said to have been wounded in the attacks against the two Ukrainian port cities of Mykolaiv and Odesa on the night of Thursday, according to the local governors.
– Russia hit the center of the city. A garage and a three-storey residential building are on fire, writes Governor Vitalij Kim in Mykolaiv on Telegram.
According to him, 18 people were injured in the attack, and nine of them have been sent to hospital, including five children. The condition of the injured is not known.
Mykolaiv mayor Oleksandr Senkevych has posted photos on social media showing fire crews at a partially destroyed building.
– At least five blocks of flats and around 15 garages were destroyed, he claims.
Russia also attacked the port city of Odesa, around 100 kilometers further south, on Thursday night, according to Governor Oleg Kiper.
– As a result of the Russian attack, destruction was done in the center of Odesa, he says.
According to Kiper, two people have been sent to hospital with injuries.
2023-07-20 09:23:03
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