Russia announced yesterday it would suspend its participation in a deal allowing Ukraine to safely ship grains through the Black Sea, effectively ending the accord. In justifying the move, Russian officials cited the United Nations’ alleged failure to uphold parts of the deal designed to streamline Russian fertilizer and grain exports.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative enabled over 30 million tons of corn, wheat, and other grains (see data) to flow across the globe in the last year, helping reduce the global price of grain by a reported 20%. Ukrainian officials signaled they would continue to move grains through the route, despite Russia’s warning it would no longer guarantee safety to vessels in the corridor. Separately, a major bridge linking Russia to Crimea—which Russia annexed in 2014—was struck by boat drones, also known as uncrewed surface vessels, overnight Sunday, killing two and shutting down vehicle traffic; a parallel railroad route avoided closure. See war updates here.
