President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his address that Russia is disrupting the supply of Ukrainian grain within the framework of the quadrilateral agreement and is specially queuing up vessels in the Black Sea.
"The enemy is doing everything to slow down our exports. I believe that with these actions, Russia is deliberately inciting the food crisis so that it is as acute as in the first half of this year. Today, more than 150 vessels are in the queue to fulfill contractual obligations for the supply of our agricultural products. This is an artificial queue. It arose only because Russia is deliberately delaying the passage of ships," the president said.
He added that it is Russiaʼs fault that food exports to such countries as Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, China, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and others are delayed. Because of Russia, during the grain agreement, Ukraine under-exported about 3 million tons of food, which, according to Zelenskyi, is the annual amount of consumption for 10 million people.
The president called such actions of the Russian Federation aggression against every person on Earth, because, in this way, Russia encroaches on the fundamental rights to life and food.
- On July 22, Russia signed an agreement on unblocking the export of Ukrainian grain from the ports of Odesa, Pivdenny, and Chornomorsk. The agreement was signed by Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Turkey, and the UN as a mediator. A day later, Russian troops bombarded the port of Odesa with missiles. On August 5, the first caravan of ships left the ports of Odessa.
- On September 6, Russiaʼs permanent representative to the UN, Vasyl Nebenzia, said that the Russian Federation might refuse to extend the "grain agreement" in November — allegedly due to the blocking of Russian food exports through the Bosphorus. The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine denied Putinʼs statement.