IRIA News

Russia said that it was withdrawing from the UN-brokered agreement to allow grain exports from Ukraine through the Black Sea until its demands to loosen sanctions on its own agricultural exports were met. The wartime deal allowed grain to flow from Ukrainian ports to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Russia unilaterally pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI), an agreement that facilitates the exports of Ukrainian grains amid the war. The one-year agreement was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022 and expired on July 17, 2023. The BSGI agreement was reached to alleviate a global food crisis after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov announced that Russia would not renew the pact after its expiration saying that Moscow’s demands regarding the deal were not met. Peskov added that Russia would “return” to the deal “immediately” if its demands about its exports were met. “Unfortunately, the part of these Black Sea agreements concerning Russia has not been implemented so far, so its effect is terminated,” he said.

Over the course of one year since its inception, the deal allowed safe exports of more than 32 million metric tons of corn, wheat, and other grains from Ukraine before it was distributed all over the world.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia’s unilateral pullout from the Black Sea Grain Initiative would not affect Ukraine’s grain exports.

“Even without the Russian Federation, everything must be done so that we can use this Black Sea corridor. We are not afraid. We have been approached by companies that own ships. They said that they are ready” to continue shipments, Zelenskyy said in comments distributed on social media by his spokesman Serhii Nykyforov.

Deputy head of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council Denys Marchuk said that any alternative route, such as river ports or land routes, would be more expensive to use in terms of transportation costs. He suggested that Ukraine should continue to export grains even without the deal. “As an option, why don’t we assess the possibility of the continuation of the grain deal without Russia? We had experience of this already in November 2022,” he said.

Russia’s announcement of the pullout from the grain deal came only hours after an attack on the Crimea bridge that links mainland Russia to the Crimean peninsula. Moscow linked Ukraine with the explosion that resulted in the destruction of the bridge. Russian sources claim that two civilians were killed and one was wounded in the explosion that damaged a significant part of the bridge on July 17, 2023.

Global food security crisis

Ukraine is a major supplier of the World Food Program (WFP) which facilitates the availability of cheaper grains for developing countries. According to the European Commission, Ukraine accounts for 10% of the world wheat market, 15% of the corn market, and 13% of the barley market. It is also a key global player in the market of sunflower oil.

Since its implementation, the Black Sea grain deal facilitated safe exports of more than 725,000 tons of grains under the World Food Program to support humanitarian operations in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. A UN body has warned that the termination deal could push as many as 47 million people into “acute food insecurity”.

Food prices soared immensely across the world and particularly in developing countries as soon as the Russian invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022. The Black Sea Grain Initiative proved vital for stabilizing global food prices after the Russian invasions of Ukraine. The deal brought immense relief to developing countries, especially African nations, which rely on Ukrainian exports and WFP.

World reaction

World leaders and especially Western officials were quick to condemn Russia’s decision to lapse the deal. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that he deeply regrets Russia’s decision to terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative, in effect ending a “lifeline” for hundreds of millions worldwide facing hunger and spiraling food costs. “Today’s decision by the Russian Federation will strike a blow to people in need everywhere,” Guterres said while speaking to journalists at UN Headquarters in New York.

Moscow, however, rejected the criticism from the United Nations and highlighted that the UN Chief should persuade European countries to fulfill their obligations under the grain deal.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also condemned Russia’s decision. “Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine continues to harm millions of vulnerable people around the world,” he said in a tweet.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly condemned the Kremlin’s move. “Putin is using food as a weapon,” Cleverly tweeted, stressing that this decision “hurts the world’s poorest.” Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that Russia’s decision is “further proof of who is a friend and who is the enemy of the poorest countries.” Meloni said in a statement that “using the raw material that feeds the world as a weapon is another offense against humanity.”

Putin is using food as a weapon.

The UK strongly condemns Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

This decision hurts the world’s poorest.

— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) July 17, 2023

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week accused Russia of using the grain deal “as a weapon.” After Russia announced its unilateral termination of the deal the U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said “Russia’s decision to resume its effective blockade of Ukrainian ports and prevent this grain from getting to markets will harm people all over the world.” Kirby also repeated Blinken’s claims and accused Moscow of weaponizing food.

Several G20 members condemned Russia’s move to terminate the agreement that allowed the safe export of grain from Ukraine. “Several members condemned it saying that shouldn’t have happened … passing through the Black Sea shouldn’t have been stopped or suspended,” India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters at the end of the two-day meeting of the bloc. India currently holds the presidency of the G20, an economic cooperation bloc comprised of 19 countries and the European Union.

African leaders also voiced their concerns about the termination of the deal. Kenyan government released a statement saying that Russia’s withdrawal from the deal allowing Ukraine to safely export grain through the Black Sea is a “stab in the back” for those in drought-hit countries.  

Russia launches strike on Odesa in retaliation for Crimea bridge attack

Russia carried out attacks across southern and eastern Ukraine overnight, in what it said was retaliation for the deadly explosion on the Crimean Bridge, which connects Crimea’s eastern extremity with Russia’s Krasnodar region. Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian port cities along the Black Sea were targeted in “a mass retaliatory strike” in response to the Crimea bridge attack.

Ukrainian officials said that Russia launched missile and drone strikes on the city of Odesa, which is home to a major grain port, damaging the infrastructure in the Black Sea port of Odesa.