After terminating the grain agreement, Russia is now using military means to prevent any export of food from Ukraine via the Black Sea. This was announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense on Wednesday evening. As of Thursday, ships calling at Ukrainian ports would be viewed as “potential carriers of military cargo” and thus as adversaries. The countries flying the flags of the ships in question would also be considered as pro-Ukrainian states in the conflict.
Many of the freighters recently involved in grain exports from Ukrainian ports did not sail under the Ukrainian flag, but under the flags of Hong Kong, the Philippines and other countries. In the statement, Moscow identified the north-east and south-west of the Black Sea in particular as “unsafe for shipping”. The safety of seafaring cannot be guaranteed there.
Moscow wants to prevent food from being exported from Ukraine
It is unclear whether, after Moscow’s announcement, Russian forces would actually dare to attack ships of states not involved in the war in Ukraine in international waters and subsequently also practically declare war on these states. On the other hand, these reports from Russia can hardly be understood in any other way.
With such threats, Moscow probably wants to prevent food from being exported from Ukraine after the end of the grain agreement. Because for such exports, Russia’s consent is actually not necessary. Moscow only canceled the export agreement between Russia, Turkey and the United Nations. A separate agreement between Ukraine and Turkey and the UN is still in force, and of course Kiev does not, of course, need permission from Moscow for exports across international waters. So Russia’s withdrawal from the agreement was actually a rather inconsequential measure, which is now supposed to be given more weight militarily.
The port of Odessa was attacked by the Russian army with a large number of drones, cruise missiles and rockets on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Only a part could be intercepted by the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses. The port and civilian facilities in the city were hit hard in some cases. Little was known about the exact damage on Wednesday, images that are not all verified showed some deep craters in the city, and at least one terminal at the port, which is used to load grain, is also said to have been damaged.
Each of these bombs hit “even the poorest in the world,” said Baerbock
The port of Chornomorsk, just south of Odessa, was also badly hit in the attacks. According to the Ukrainian Minister of Agriculture Mykola Solsky, 60,000 tons of grain were destroyed here alone. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock condemned the attacks. Each of these bombs hit “even the poorest in the world,” said the Green politician.
The agreement on grain exports from Ukraine and Russia came into force almost exactly a year ago. With the deliveries, it was possible to stabilize the prices for grain and other foodstuffs, which had risen sharply in some cases after the start of the war in the Ukraine. Especially in African countries, but also in some countries in Asia and South America, there was a risk of famine due to the increased food prices. Russia and Ukraine are among the world’s largest producers of grain, cooking oil and other foods.
After the threats from Russia, grain prices rose again
The agreement stipulated that the cargo ships, under the guidance of Ukrainian pilots, would drive through a 310-nautical-mile corridor in the Black Sea, bypassing the minefields laid there and be searched in Istanbul by Russian, Turkish and Ukrainian inspectors. After the threats from Russia, grain prices on the international markets immediately rose again.
It is currently unclear whether cargo ships will take the risk to call at Ukrainian ports after this announcement by Russia. In the run-up, the possibility had been mentioned several times that the Turkish Navy could guarantee the safety of the freighters – after all, Ankara also signed an agreement with Kiev and the United Nations. According to Moscow’s announcement, however, this would mean that ships belonging to NATO member Turkey could meet Russian warships in the Black Sea. It is probably precisely these fears that Moscow is calculating with.