Vladimir Putin threatened on Wednesday July 19, cargo ships destined for Ukraine as Kyiv declared it was prepared to continue grain exports despite the end of the deal, while calling on other countries for support. Putin added that he would consider rejoining the deal if his conditions are met.
Russia said on Wednesday it would consider cargo ships destined for Ukraine via the Black Sea potential military targets, following its decision to exit a landmark deal that permitted the export of grain from Ukraine.
Following a second night of strikes around the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa, President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of deliberately targeting grain export infrastructure and putting vulnerable countries at risk.
Kyiv at the same time urged other countries in the Black Sea region to intervene to assure the safe passage of cargo ships.
But Putin in a government meeting late Wednesday accused the West of using the grain deal as “political blackmail” and that the agreement “has lost all meaning”.
He added he would consider rejoining the deal only “if all principles under which Russia agreed to participate in the deal are fully taken into account and fulfilled”.
“From 00:00 am Moscow time on 20 July 2023 (2100 GMT Wednesday), all vessels sailing on the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports will be regarded as potential carriers of military cargo,” the Russian defense ministry said.
“Flag states of such vessels will be considered to be involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kyiv regime,” the ministry said in the warning.
The beginning of Moscow’s Ukraine campaign last year saw Black Sea ports blocked by warships until the agreement, brokered by the UN and Turkey.
The Kremlin said it was exiting the deal on Monday, after months of complaining that a related agreement allowing the export of Russian food and fertilizers had not been honored.
Moscow accused Ukraine of using the Black Sea grain corridor for “combat purposes”, following Russia’s withdrawal from the deal.
During the night of Tuesday, the Russian army said in a statement it had hit “military industrial facilities, infrastructure for fuel, and ammunition depots of the Ukrainian armed forces near the city of Odesa” in the overnight assault.
But Kyiv said the strikes had destroyed 60,000 tonnes of grain waiting for export.
Georges Haddad, with AFP
