Crimean Bridge badly damaged after ‘multiple blasts’ in early hours
Vladimir Putin has been blasted for his “cynical move” to end the Black Sea grain export deal after the Crimean Bridge was struck on Monday.
Russia said it had halted participation in the landmark UN-brokered deal that allowed Ukrainian grain to be exported through the Black Sea just hours after Moscow said Ukraine had attacked the critical Russian supply line amid reports of multiple explosions.
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “strongly condemned Russia’s cynical move” in a tweet, adding that the EU would continue to work towards ensuring food security for poor countries.
Moscow’s decision comes after Russia’s Investigative Committee said Kyiv was behind the “attack” on the bridge, which is a major supply artery for Russian troops fighting in Ukraine and was previously bombed in October. It subsequently opened a terrorism case.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has not officially confirmed nor denied involvement and the country’s military has suggested Moscow could be responsible.
Three Ukrainian media outlets quoted unnamed sources as saying Ukraine’s domestic security agency and navy were behind the incident, adding that they had used sea-borne drones to attack it.
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EU condemns Russia ending Ukraine grain deal as ‘cynical move’
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”, adding that the EU would continue to work towards ensuring food security for poor countries.
Russia said it had halted participation in a landmark UN-brokered deal that allowed Ukrainian grain to be exported through the Black Sea just hours after Moscow said Ukraine had attacked the Crimean Bridge. Prices for grains and oilseeds have already risen in response to news that Russia will suspend its participation in the deal.
“I strongly condemn Russia’s cynical move to terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative, despite UN & Turkiye’s efforts. EU is working to ensure food security for the world’s vulnerable. EU Solidarity Lanes will continue bringing agrifood products out of Ukraine & to global markets,” von der Leyen said in a Tweet.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said Moscow’s decision was unjustified and was using food as a weapon in the conflict with Ukraine.
“This is something very serious that will create a lot of troubles for many people around the world,” Borrell told reporters on entering a summit with countries of South and Central America. “I have to blame Russia for this decision. (It is) completely unjustified, weaponising the hunger of the people.”
Ukraine is a major producer of grains and oilseeds and the interruption to its exports at the outbreak of war pushed global food prices to record highs. The deal, agreed in July 2022 some five months after the war started, helped to bring down prices and ease a global food crisis.
Tara Cobham17 July 2023 15:05
Watch: Trump reveals plan after claiming he would end Ukraine war ‘in 24 hours’
Trump reveals plan after claiming he would end Ukraine war ‘in 24 hours’
Tara Cobham17 July 2023 16:10
Ukraine wants use of Black Sea grain corridor to continue
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday everything must be done so that the Black Sea grain export corridor continues to be used after Russia halted its participation, his spokesperson said.
“Even without the Russian Federation, everything must be done so that we can use this Black Sea corridor. We are not afraid,” spokesperson Serhiy Nykyforov quoted Zelenskiy as saying. “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.”
Zelenskiy said Ukraine had two agreements on grain exports – one with Turkey and the United Nations, and the other with Russia, Turkey and the United Nations. He ordered Ukraine’s foreign ministry to prepare an official note to the UN and Turkey on whether they would be ready to continue with the initiative.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who is in New York this week to participate in a UN security council meeting, urged Russia to stop “playing hunger games.”
“The immediate outcome of non-extension of the agreement will mean that prices for grain all across the globe will go up, and people in the most vulnerable regions of Asia, Africa, they will feel it, and this is the result of Russian actions,” Kuleba said in an interview with CBS Mornings. “So Russia is using hunger as an instrument to blackmail the world, pursuing its own commercial interest. Stop playing hunger games.”
Tara Cobham17 July 2023 15:55
Russia ending grain deal ‘will harm millions’, warns White House
Russia’s suspension of a pact that has allowed the Black Sea export of grain from Ukraine “will worsen food security and harm millions,” the White House said on Monday.
“We urge the Government of Russia to immediately reverse its decision,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adam Hodge said in a statement.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, described Moscow’s decision as an “act of cruelty” on Monday.
“Russia has dealt another blow to the world’s most vulnerable, this time by suspending its participation in the Black Sea grain initiative. This is really another act of cruelty,” she told reporters.
Tara Cobham17 July 2023 15:40
‘Russian decision on grain deal is final’ – state news agency quotes official
Russia’s decision not to extend the Black Sea grain deal is final and no more talks are planned, state news agency TASS quoted a senior Russian official at the United Nations as saying on Monday.
Tara Cobham17 July 2023 15:37
End to grain deal ‘risks holding global food security at ransom’, says IRC President
The President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has said the expiration of the Black Sea grain export deal “risks holding global food security at ransom”.
David Miliband said: “The IRC is deeply alarmed at Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, putting the future of the grain exports from the region at risk – a decision which will be most painfully felt by the 349 million people around the world facing food insecurity today. From Ukraine to Somalia, IRC’s clients are facing the ripple effects on food and energy prices of 500 days of war. The expiration of the deal risks holding global food security at ransom.”
Tara Cobham17 July 2023 15:21
Watch live: UN Secretary-General gives update on grain exports in the Black Sea
Tara Cobham17 July 2023 15:11
Watch live: Final grain ship arrives in Turkey after Russia pulls out of Ukraine deal
Tara Cobham17 July 2023 15:00
Why the Crimea bridge attack will get under Putin’s skin
A pre-dawn deadly assault on the Kerch Bridge is the second such attack in just nine months. As Ukraine pushes ahead with a summer counteroffensive, it amounts to a personal jab at Vladimir Putin, who has often boasted about its construction.
The 12-mile rail and road structure – the longest in Europe – was a £2.7 billion prestige project opened by Mr Putin five years ago. It links the Russian mainland and occupied Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014. When it was opened, Mr Putin boasted that Russian Tsars had dreamed of building this “miracle” but never succeeded. Russian state media hailed it as the “construction of the century”.
Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February, the bridge has morphed into a military supply lifeline for Moscow’s men on the battlefield. In the summer it is also gridlocked with Russian tourists wanting to holiday in Crimea – a popular holiday destination, despite the war rumbling mere miles away.
In Ukraine, the bridge has become a focus of anger as a symbol of Russia’s long-standing efforts to take Ukrainian territory and to ‘Russify’ the territory.
Losing the bridge would undermine Russia’s supply lines and potentially cut off tens of thousands of Russian holidaymakers in Crimea from the mainland.
Tara Cobham17 July 2023 14:51
Why the expiry of the Black Sea grain deal matters
A deal allowing Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea will expire at the end of Monday after Russia said it will suspend its participation.
The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to alleviate a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blocked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict to be exported safely.
Why is the deal important?
Ukraine is a major producer of grains and oilseeds and the interruption to its exports at the outbreak of war pushed global food prices to record highs. The deal, agreed in July 2022 some five months after the war started, helped to bring down prices and ease a global food crisis.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain17 July 2023 13:40