Russia on Saturday suspended its participation in a landmark deal that enabled vital grain exports from Ukraine, blaming drone strikes by Russian ships in Crimea.
Drone attack on Russia Black Sea fleet have prompted Russia to suspended its participation in a landmark deal that enabled vital grain exports from the port, which Ukraine described as a "false pretext" and the UN urged compliance with the deal.
The Turkey-UN brokered grain export liberalization agreement signed between Russia and Ukraine in July is central to the conflict-triggered crisis.
The agreement has already enabled the export of more than nine million tons of Ukrainian grain and should be extended on November 19. A Turkish security source told AFP that Ankara was not "officially" informed of Russia's suspension, while Ukraine and the UN pressed for the deal to remain in place.
"I urge all states to demand that Russia end its Hunger Games and recommit to fulfilling its commitments," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said: "It is vital that all parties refrain from any action that could jeopardize the Black Sea Grains Initiative, which represents a crucial humanitarian effort."
Sevastopol on Moscow-annexed Crimea has come under multiple attacks in recent months and serves as the Black Sea Fleet's headquarters and logistics center for operations in Ukraine. The Russian military claimed to have "destroyed" nine aircraft drones and seven sea drones in an attack on the port early Saturday.
"In view of the terrorist attack by the Kiev regime with the participation of British experts against ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian ships involved in securing grain corridors, Russia suspends its participation in the implementation of the agreement on export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports" , the Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram.
Russia said the same British entity was involved in explosions in the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month. Britain firmly denied both claims, saying that "Russia's defense ministry is resorting to the dissemination of false claims on an epic scale. Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday that Moscow blamed the explosions and the alleged drone strike on the UN Security Council will escalate to.
The UK Ministry of Defense said this "made up story says more about the infighting within the Russian government than about the West". the deal and said its own grain exports had suffered due to Western sanctions. "MASSIVE" ATTACK Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-based governor of Sevastopol, said Saturday's drone strike was the "most massive" attack the peninsula had ever seen in City services were "on alert" but said no "civilian infrastructure" had been damaged.
City authorities said the port was "temporarily" closed to ships and ferries and urged people "not to panic". Attacks in Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, have escalated in recent weeks as Kyiv presses ahead with a counteroffensive in the south to retake months of Moscow-held territory. Moscow-installed authorities in Kherson, north of Crimea, have vowed to turn the city into a fortress in preparation for an inevitable attack. On Thursday, Razvozhayev said that a thermal power plant in Balaklava in the Sevastopol region was attacked.
He stated that there was little damage and no casualties. In early October, the Moscow Bridge, which connects Crimea to mainland Russia and was inaugurated personally by President Vladimir Putin in 2018, was damaged by an explosion that Putin blamed on Ukraine.
The Russian fleet stationed in the port was also attacked by a drone in August. Russia's accusations came on Saturday as Ukraine's military reported fighting in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions to the east, including near Bakhmut, the only area where Moscow's
Forces have advanced in recent weeks. Pro-Russian separatists fighting alongside Moscow have also announced a new prisoner swap with Kyiv, saying 50 from each side will return home.
Both sides were preparing to fight for the city of Kherson, the regional capital, which fell to Moscow forces in the first days of their offensive.