Russia Suspends Participation in Ukraine Grain Deal "Black Sea Fleet Drone Attack"

[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] CNN reported on the 29th (local time) that Russia declared it would suspend its participation in the grain export agreement, citing an attack on its Black Sea Fleet by Ukrainian forces using drones.

On the same day, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement saying, "Russia is suspending its participation in the implementation of the agreement on agricultural product exports from Ukrainian ports." The Russian Ministry of Defense explained that this was because Ukraine attacked the Black Sea Fleet in the southwestern Crimean port city of Sevastopol with drones. However, Ukraine denied Russia's drone attack claims, stating that Russia is making fabricated assertions.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that Ukrainian forces deployed 16 drones to attack Russian vessels in the Black Sea and alleged that British military experts were behind the operation. The Ministry added that most of the Ukrainian drones were shot down, but one of their own mine countermeasure vessels (minehunters) sustained minor damage.

Mikhail Razvozhaev, the Sevastopol mayor appointed by Russia, stated via Telegram on the same day, "At 4:20 a.m. today, the Kyiv regime carried out a terrorist attack targeting the Black Sea Fleet and civilian ships," and claimed, "This was the largest drone attack in the city's history."

On July 22, Russia and Ukraine signed the "Black Sea Grain Initiative" agreement, mediated by the United Nations and T?rkiye (Turkey), which temporarily guarantees the safety of grain export vessels passing through the Black Sea for 120 days.

Thanks to the agreement, Ukraine was able to resume grain exports through the Black Sea, which had been blocked since the outbreak of the war in February this year. Ukraine is one of the world's largest exporters of wheat, corn, and sunflower oil, and the suspension of Ukrainian grain exports after the war's outbreak had caused severe food inflation.

Due to the grain export agreement, Ukraine has exported more than 9 million tons of grain so far, which has significantly stabilized global food prices. However, concerns are rising that global grain prices will fluctuate again following Russia's declaration to suspend participation in the agreement.

Andriy Yermak, Chief of Staff to the President of Ukraine, accused Russia of fabricating the terrorist attack after an explosion occurred in Crimea and then resorting to threats.

The Russian Ministry of Defense also claimed that the United Kingdom was involved in the Nord Stream gas pipeline leak incident that occurred at the end of last month. On September 26, four points on the Nord Stream-1 and Nord Stream-2 pipelines passing through the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of Denmark and Sweden were damaged, causing a massive gas leak.