Russia will suspend its participation in grain deal following drone attack on Sevastopol

Russia will suspend its participation in the “grain deal,” an agreement which allows Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported.

The decision follows a drone attack on ships in Sevastopol, which the city’s governor and the Russian defense ministry reported early in the morning of October 29.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the ships that were attacked participated, among other things, in ensuring the security of the “grain corridor.”

Russia blamed Ukraine and the UK for the attack. “Considering the terrorist attack carried out by the Kyiv regime and British specialists against ships from the Black Sea Fleet and civilian boats, the Russian side suspends its participations in agreements concerning the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports.”

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• After its invasion of Ukraine, Russia blocked Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which handle a significant portion of the country’s exports.
• In the summer, Russia and Ukraine agreed, with mediation from the UN and Turkey, to resume Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea.
• The deal was intended to help alleviate a global food crisis. Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that the deal allegedly leaves out the world’s poorest countries, contrary to the original agreement. He also said that Russia would not continue the deal if it became clear that the “grain corridor” was used to deliver explosives involved in the Crimean Bridge explosion.
• Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia was holding up Ukrainian ships leaving Black Sea Ports, and that Russia wants to exit the deal.