Russia will suspend its participation in the United Nations-brokered grain export deal with Ukraine after drone attacks in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, the country’s defense ministry announced on Saturday.
Moscow blames Kyiv for the attacks. CNN cannot independently verify the Russian report, and Ukraine has not yet acknowledged the incident.
“Taking into account the act of terrorism committed by the Kyiv regime with the participation of British experts on October 29 this year against ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian ships involved in the security of the ‘corridor of gra’, the Russian side suspends its participation in the implementation of agreements on the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Britain has denied Moscow’s claim that Britain helped Ukraine plan the Crimean drone strikes, saying Russia is “peddling false claims on an epic scale”.
Some background: In July, after months of negotiations, ministers from Ukraine and Russia signed an accord brokered by the UN and Turkey. Russia pledged to unblock Black Sea ports to allow the safe passage of grain and oilseeds, some of Ukraine’s most important exports.
The deal expires next month, and Moscow officials have questioned whether they will extend their participation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that there is “a lot of work” to be done before the deal can be renewed. Putin has also weighed in, saying Moscow would close export corridors if they are used to carry out “terrorist attacks”.
Despite this, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister expressed optimism about the deal earlier this month, saying “there is no doubt that the grain corridor will continue to operate after November 22,” when it is scheduled to expired
The World Food Program estimated that tens of millions of people went into acute starvation as a result of the war in Ukraine, and Western officials have accused Russia of using food as a weapon during its invasion