Ukraine updates: Russia halts grain deal after Crimea attack

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Russia's decision to exit the Black Sea grain deal will "strike a blow to people in need everywhere."

Guterres said the agreement had until now "been a lifeline for global food security and a beacon of hope in a troubled world."

"Ultimately, participation in these agreements is a choice," he told reporters in New York City.

"But struggling people everywhere and developing countries don't have a choice. Hundreds of millions of people face hunger and consumers are confronting a global cost-of-living crisis. They will pay the price"

The UN Secretary-General also said he was "deeply disappointed" that his letter to Russian Vladimir Putin that contained a proposal to save the agreement went unheeded.

Later on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he agreed with Guterres in a phone conversation "to work together, and with the relevant countries, to renew food security and food shipments by way of the Black Sea."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined the chorus of Western politicians in condemning Russia's decision not to renew the Black Sea grain deal, which allowed a wartime Black Sea safe corridor for the export of grain to Africa, Asia and elsewhere.

"The result of Russia's action today weaponizing food ... will be to make food harder to come by in places that desperately need it, and have prices rise," Blinken told reporters.

"The bottom line is, it's unconscionable."

Blinken added that Washington is monitoring the damage to the Kerch Bridge, and that it is up to Ukraine to decide how it conducts the war.

The White House later said in a statement it was not in a position to attribute the bridge attack to any party. 

Russian-installed authorities in Crimea urged stranded Russian tourists to drive home through the war zone in Ukraine after a roadway on the Kerch Bridge was damaged Monday. 

"I ask residents and guests of the peninsula to refrain from travel on the Crimea bridge, and with the aim of safety, choose an alternative overland route through the new regions," said the Russian-installed head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, using Moscow's terminology for the occupied regions of Ukraine.

Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed head of the section of Ukraine's southern Kherson region that is controlled by Moscow, said that safety would be "ensured by the Russian army, it will be strengthened."

Russian state television broadcast a map of the alternative route, which goes through occupied Ukrainian cities of Melitopol and Mariupol before reaching the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-don. Russian media also reminded drivers to bring their passports with them.

"It is a famous route," said the head of Crimea's parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov. "A very good one, along the Azov Sea, great scenery."

The Crimean bridge is a vital link to Russia as Crimea's main airport in Simferopol was closed shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported there are around 50,000 Russian tourists in Crimea, which has long been a popular summer destination in the region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded concrete proposals to protect the Kerch Bridge linking mainland Russia with the occupied Crimean peninsula.

"Another terrorist attack was committed on the bridge last night," Putin said in a televised meeting with officials Monday evening.

"I am waiting for specific proposals to improve the security of this strategic, important transport facility," he added. 

In October last year, the bridge was damaged in a powerful blast, with Russian officials saying the explosion was caused by a truck that blew up while crossing the bridge, killing three people.

Annexed by Russia in 2014, the Crimean peninsula is still internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin added repair work would start quickly because the footing of the bridge was not seriously damaged.

Khusnullin projected that road traffic in one direction would resume by September 15, and in both directions restored by November 1.

 

Nicola Beer, a vice president in the European Parliament believes that the West has no choice but to hope for Russia to act responsibly regarding the Black Sea grain deal.

"We really can only ask [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to be to stay reasonable on this ground and maybe even to extend the agreement so that we do not go from two months to two months, but [rather] to have a longer term agreement on this case," the German MEP told DW

Beer also disputed Moscow's claims that the deal collapsed because it wasn't being enforced properly to allow Russia's own fertilizer exports.

"This is a narrative Putin always wants to get through, but we have to contest," she said.

"It's clear that we have sanctions due to the war of aggression of Putin against Ukraine. But it is also clear that under this agreement, Putin was able to export also his own grains, but to lift now all the sanctions would not be possible because it would not help to stop the war," she said.

"And at the end, the war is the problem. Putin should stop the war and not now use hunger in the world as a weapon also against Ukraine and other countries," she added. 

Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement Monday afternoon, stating the grain deal would "terminate" on July 18.

It added that the West would have to lift sanctions and remove barriers to Russia's fertilizer exports in order for a resumption of the deal to be considered.

"Only with concrete results, not promises and assurances received, Russia will be able to consider the resumption of the deal," the ministry said.

German leaders have condemned Russia's decision not to renew the Black Sea grain deal, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz saying the move sends a bad message to the rest of the world.

"Everyone will understand what is behind it, namely an action that has a lot to do with the fact that Russia does not feel responsible for good coexistence in the world," Scholz said.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Putin was "using hunger as a weapon in this brutal war of aggression" which has global ramifications.

"In the spirit of peace in Ukraine, but also in the spirit of peace in the world," Baerbock said. 

Some countries in Africa and Asia rely heavily on grain exports from Ukraine.

Baerbock said Putin's actions make it clear he "has no regard for the weakest in the world."

She said it was now more important than ever for the European Union to help Ukraine export grain via railways.

Svenja Schulze, Germany's minister for economic development and cooperation, also said alternatives were needed.

"Where Russia can use wheat as a weapon, it will do so," she said.

"The lesson to be learned from this uncertainty is that we must become more independent of Putin's arbitrariness."

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was quoted as saying that everything should be done in order for grain exports to continue through the Black Sea.

"Even without the Russian Federation, everything must be done so that we can use this Black Sea corridor. We are not afraid," Zelenskyy said, according to spokesperson Serhiy Nykyforov. 

"We were approached by companies, ship-owners. They said that they are ready, if Ukraine lets them go, and Turkey continues to let them through, then everyone is ready to continue supplying grain," Nykyforov quoted the president as saying.

On Monday, Russia said it was exiting the landmark deal brokered with Turkey and the UN to unblock deliveries from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea area.

The British government announced the introduction of 14 new sanctions targeting Russia for "attempts to destroy Ukrainian national identity."

According to a statement issued by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, 11 of the measures were aimed at "those involved in the forced deportation of Ukrainian children."

According to the statement, those involved had played an "insidious role in Russia's calculated program of deportation," which the British government said was "designed to erase Ukrainian cultural and national identity."

It said that over 19,000 Ukrainian children had been forcibly deported to Russia or Russian-controlled territory.

The British government said that two Russian propagandists were among those being sanctioned for spreading propaganda "designed to incite violence and hatred." The individuals include former Russia Today presenter Anton Krasovsky who the UK said had called for Ukrainian children to be drowned and burned on air.

Russia's Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova was also among those being targeted.

Russia's embassy in the UK has called the fresh sanctions "legally null and categorically unacceptable."

In March of this year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the alleged deportation of children from Ukraine.

European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday called Russia's decision to suspend a Black Sea grain export deal a "cynical move."

Von der Leyen added that the EU would keep working on efforts to ensure food security for poor nations.

"I strongly condemn Russia's cynical move to terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative," she tweeted.

The EU Commission president was making the comments as the European Union hosts leaders of the Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) group.

Brussels seeks to mend cracks over trade and Russia's invasion of Ukraine with members.

 

The Russian grain exporting union Rusgrain has said its members are still preparing to keep supplying customers despite Moscow saying it would halt the grain deal.

"Russia is the largest supplier of wheat to the world market... All contractual obligations of Russian grain exporters will be fulfilled," it said.

Russia earlier said the deal had de facto ended after the last ship left Ukraine under the agreement on Sunday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he believes his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin does want to extend the grain deal that allows food and fertilizer to be exported from Russia and Ukraine via the Black Sea.

Erdogan said he hoped talks between Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Russia's Sergey Lavrov about the grain deal would be productive. 

Erdogan said he would discuss the situation, including the export of Russian fertilizer, with Putin when they meet in person. 

While it had been suggested that would be during an expected meeting in August, Erdogan did not rule out holding talks earlier.

Germany has urged Russia to return to a deal to allow the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea after Moscow said it had "de facto ended."

Moscow made the announcement hours before the deal was due to expire, noting it was essential for food security in many of the world's poorer regions.

"We continue to call on Russia to allow a further extension of the grain deal," government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann told reporters. 

Hoffmann added that this "conflict should not be carried out on the backs of the poorest on this planet."

After the Kremlin made its announcement, Russian news agencies said Moscow had notified Turkey, Ukraine and the UN that it was against extending the deal. 

Russia says it has halted a deal that allows much-needed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced halting the deal in a conference call with reporters.

He said Russia would return to the deal, set to expire on Monday, after its demands are met. 

"When the part of the Black Sea deal related to Russia is implemented, Russia will immediately return to the implementation of the deal," Peskov said.

Russia says the halting of the deal has nothing to do with an attack on a bridge linking Russia to Crimea earlier on Monday.

Turkey brokered the agreement to let food leave Ukrainian ports via the Black Sea, and a separate agreement facilitated the movement of Russian food and fertilizer amid Western sanctions.

However, Russia has complained that restrictions on shipping and insurance have hampered its food and fertilizer exports.

Despite this, analysts and export data say Russia has been shipping record amounts of wheat and fertilizers.

The agreement was last renewed for 60 days in May, with Moscow also pushing back before finally accepting the extension.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused Ukraine of carrying out an attack on the bridge between Russia and Crimea, with the possible involvement of Britain and the United States.

"If a Western origin of the surface drones that attacked the bridge, as well as a role of Western countries in planning, sponsoring, and carrying out this operation, is revealed, this will confirm their complicity in the terrorist activities of the Kyiv regime," the ministry said.

Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier made the assertions that Washington and London were involved outright, but did not provide evidence to support them.

"Decisions are made by Ukrainian officials and the military with the direct participation of American and British intelligence agencies and politicians," she said.

Later Russian authorities described the incident on the Kerch bridge as a "terror attack," and blamed Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies, "We know the cause, we know those behind this terror attack."

According to Russian news agencies, Peskov stated, "All this is the work of the Kyiv regime."

Russian state media cited the country's Anti-Terrorist Committee saying Ukraine attacked the Crimean bridge using unmanned drones on the water's surface. 

Russia's Investigative Committee said Ukrainian "special services" were responsible for the attack, and that it had opened a criminal investigation.

At least two Ukrainian media organizations have now cited unnamed sources saying Ukraine's domestic security agency and military were behind the bridge incident.

Public broadcaster Suspilne and the media outlet Ukrainska Pravda said the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the navy were involved. 

Suspilne cited its sources as saying underwater drones were used to carry out the attack but also quoted a navy spokesman as saying he had no such information.

The AFP news agency also reported that Ukraine was behind the attack, based on a Ukrainian source.