The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine stated that the initiative to export grain through the Black Sea Corridor has an exclusively humanitarian nature. This is how the department commented on Russiaʼs statement on the termination of participation in the “grain agreement”.
The ministry reported that since August 1, when the first ship left the Ukrainian port of Odesa, and until today, it was possible to export more than 9 million tons of food, of which more than 5 million tons — to countries in Africa and Asia. As part of the World Food Program under the auspices of the UN, 190,000 tons of Ukrainian wheat were sent to countries on the brink of famine.
- 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. On August 5, the first caravan of ships left the ports of Odesa.
- From the end of September and throughout October, the Ukrainian authorities declared that Russia artificially blocked the export of Ukrainian agricultural products, creating artificial queues in the Bosphorus.
- Official representatives of Russia have publicly stated several times that the Russian Federation may withdraw from the “grain agreement”. The occupiers demanded a guarantee of equal export of grain through the Black Sea and to limit the export destinations.
- On October 29, Russia announced its withdrawal from the “grain agreement”. She cited the drone attack on a ship of the Black Sea Fleet in the Sevastopol Bay as the reason. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation accused the soldiers of the 73rd special center of naval operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who were trained by representatives of the British Navy unit. The same British representatives were accused by the Russian Ministry of Defense of organizing explosions at the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.
- The operational command South and Britain rejected the accusations, and published a video of the attack on the fleet on social networks. The same footage was distributed by some mass media with reference to sources in the special services. A number of publics and researchers have reported damage to at least three Caliber cruise missile launchers, but there is no official information on this. Although the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation confirmed only the damage to the minesweeper Ivan Golubets, in the video one can see the strike on the frigate Admiral Makarov, which is the de facto flagship of the Black Sea Fleet after the destruction of the cruiser Moskva.
- The occupiers confirmed the damage to the minesweeper Ivan Golubets. They indicated that the attacks were carried out by ships involved in the grain corridor.