Russia suspended its participation in a UN-brokered grain deal viewed as key to addressing the global food shortage, according to the country’s defense ministry.
Moscow announced it was leaving the deal after blaming Ukraine for a drone attack on Crimea Saturday. Kyiv accused Russia of inventing “fictitious terrorist attacks” and using the deal as “blackmail.”
By Sunday, more than 200 vessels had been blocked from making shipments, Ukraine said. A growing number of Kyiv’s allies condemned Moscow’s move.
Power outages caused by Russian attacks continued in Ukraine’s capital this weekend. It will take weeks to repair electrical systems, Kyiv’s mayor said.
Putin is using "food as a weapon of war," says USAID head
From CNN’s Sarah Fortinsky
The head of the United States Agency for International Development urged Russia to continue its participation in the United Nations-brokered Black Sea grain deal, writing that “the world cannot afford for Putin to continue to use food as a weapon of war.”
“Russia’s comments about suspending its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative are regrettable. This life-saving agreement between Russia,?Ukraine, and Turkey, brokered in July by the United Nations, has allowed the export of more than nine million metric tons of grain and other food products to populations around the world in the midst of a devastating global food crisis,” USAID Administrator Samantha Power wrote in a statement Sunday.
She touted the “tremendous success” of the deal so far, crediting it with lowering global food prices and providing relief to those “most vulnerable to severe hunger.”
Remember: Moscow announced it was leaving the grain deal after blaming Ukraine for a?drone attack?on Crimea Saturday. Kyiv has accused Russia of inventing “fictitious terrorist attacks” and using the deal as “blackmail.”
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More than 200 ships blocked by Russia's decision to back out of grain deal, Ukraine says
From CNN's Dennis Lapin and Sharon Braithwaite
The movement of more than 200 ships participating in United Nations-brokered grain export deal with Ukraine is blocked, Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure said Sunday in its latest update.?
It comes a day after Russia said it had decided to suspend its participation from the deal with Ukraine, following its claims that Kyiv ordered drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol.
Of these 218 ships blocked in their current positions, there are “95 loaded vessels that have already left Ukrainian ports and are waiting inspection for shipment to the final consumer,” the ministry said.
An additional 101 vessels are waiting for inspection at the entrance to Ukrainian ports and 22 loaded vessels are waiting to leave Ukrainian ports, it added.
Ukrainian President Zelensky called the decision of Russia to suspend its participation from the grain export deal with Ukraine “deliberate” and “a rather predictable statement” in his nightly address on Saturday.
World leaders have criticized Russia’s move, with the United States accusing the country of “weaponizing food.”
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Analysis: Putin may soon find out what causes armies to lose the will to fight
Analysis by CNN's John Blake
There are moments throughout history where entire armies suddenly stop fighting, though they are evenly matched or even numerically superior to their enemy.
What causes armies to lose the will to fight? And how might that play out with the Russian army in Ukraine? This is the question that CNN asked combat veterans and military historians.
While history is full of embattled armies like the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II, which fought with ferocious intensity even though they knew they would not win, it also records other armies that “quiet quit” — stopped attacking the enemy or did the bare minimum to stay alive.
Russia’s troops may be approaching that precipice, says?Jeff McCausland, a combat veteran of the Gulf War and a visiting professor of international security studies at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania.
He says it’s become clear that the Russian army is poorly trained and supplied, and that its soldiers in many cases have lost their will to fight.
The sources for both fear and panic are varied. But McCausland and other historians say that throughout the history of warfare, there are at least three reasons why armies lose the will to fight: They lose faith in their cause, they lose faith in their leader, or they lose the backing of their country.
Read how each of those factors could play out in Russia here.
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NATO calls on Russia to urgently renew the UN-brokered grain export deal with Ukraine?
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy and Sharon Braithwaite
NATO has called on Russia to urgently renew the United Nations-brokered grain export deal with Ukraine, spokesperson Oana Lungescu told CNN Sunday.
This comes a day after Russia decided to suspend its participation from the deal with Ukraine after drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol on Saturday, which it blamed on Kyiv.
“All NATO Allies welcomed the UN deal brokered by Türkiye that made the resumption of Ukrainian agricultural exports via the Black Sea possible. These exports have helped reduce food prices over the world, including in Africa,” Lungescu said.?
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Grain deal collapse proves Russia is unwilling to honor international pacts, Polish foreign ministry says
From CNN’s Allegra Goodwin in London
A Turkish-flagged cargo ship carrying Ukrainian?grain enters the Gulf of Izmit in Turkey on August 8.
Yoruk Isik/Reuters/FILE
Russia’s announcement it would suspend its participation in a United Nations-brokered grain export deal with Ukraine is evidence that “Moscow is not willing to uphold any international agreements,” Poland’s foreign ministry said Sunday.
“Poland, together with its EU partners, stands ready to work further to help Ukraine and those in need to transport essential goods,” the ministry said in a tweet.?
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UN chief delays his next trip to focus on Russia's suspension of the Black Sea grain deal
From CNN’s Richard Roth in New York
The United Nations Secretary-General is delaying his departure for the Arab League Summit in Algiers after?Russia suspended its participation?in an UN-brokered grain deal viewed as key to addressing the global food shortage.
The UN chief’s departure for Algiers has been delayed by a day to focus on the issue, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ spokesperson said in a statement.
The Secretary-General, “is deeply concerned about the ongoing situation regarding the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the spokesperson said.
Remember: Moscow announced it was leaving the deal after what it said was a Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea Saturday. Kyiv accused Russia of inventing “fictitious terrorist attacks” and using the deal as “blackmail.”
“The same engagement also aims at the renewal and full implementation of the initiative to facilitate exports of food and fertilizer from Ukraine, as well as removing the remaining obstacles to the exports of Russian food and fertilizer,” the statement continues.
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France: Russia's accusations that UK facilitated attacks on Nord Stream pipeline and Crimea are "baseless"
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy and Saskya Vandoorne
France pushed back against Russia’s accusations that the United Kingdom helped facilitate attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol and the Nord Stream pipeline, calling them “baseless.”?
On Saturday, the Russian defense ministry accused the UK of helping Ukraine to plan Saturday’s drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol, claiming these were conducted under the guidance of British navy specialists.
Russian officials also accused representatives of the UK’s navy of being involved in explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month.?It did not provide any evidence to support either claim.
France called the allegations an example of Russia’s strategy of “distorting the reality” and turning “attention away from their sole responsibility for the war of aggression they are conducting against Ukraine,” the statement said.?
France pledged to pursue with its partners the “necessary efforts to assure that these lies cannot prosper,” reminding Russia that despite its efforts to “blur perceptions” it will not be exonerated from its responsibility for crimes committed in Ukraine.?
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Russian envoy says US is unfairly accusing Russia of exacerbating the global food problem
From Uliana Pavlova, Chris Liakos and Kevin Liptak
Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov on November 18, 2019 in Washington, DC.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said Sunday that condemning Russia for the suspension of the grain deal is unfair.
“The situation has escalated even further. But in the US, they do not intend to acknowledge this. Again, everything is reduced to false accusations that our country is exacerbating the global food problem,” Antonov said in a statement published on Facebook.
On Saturday, Russia announced it would suspend its participation in the United Nations-brokered grain export deal with Ukraine after drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol.
Antonov criticized the US for what he said was a lack of condemnation “of the reckless actions by the Kyiv regime” referring to the Sevastopol drone attack claims – an incident the Ukrainian side has not acknowledged.
“Washington’s reaction to the ‘terrorist attack’ on the port of Sevastopol is truly outrageous. We have not seen any signs of condemnation of the reckless actions by the Kyiv regime,” Antonov said in a statement published on Facebook.
“Any talk by Russia of disrupting these critical?grain exports?is essentially a statement that people and families around the world should pay more for food or go hungry,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, in a statement.
Russia said it was halting participation in the deal with Ukraine after drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol, the country’s defense ministry announced Saturday.
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Ukrainian foreign minister says Russia is blocking vessels loaded with grain on “false pretext”
From CNN's Olga Voitovych
Russia is blocking grain that would feed more than 7 million people on a “false pretext,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
“By suspending its participation in the grain deal on a false pretext of explosions 220 kilometers away from the grain corridor, Russia blocks 2 million tons of grain on 176 vessels already at sea — enough to feed over 7 million people,” Kuleba tweeted Sunday.?
?“Russia has planned this well in advance,” he said.?
On Saturday, Russia announced it would?suspend its participation in the United Nations-brokered?grain?export?deal?with Ukraine after drone attacks on the Crimean city of?Sevastopol.?
“The current queue with grain has accumulated in the Black Sea since September, when Russia started deliberately delaying the functioning of the corridor and seeking to undermine the deal. Russia took the decision to resume its hunger games long ago and now tries to justify it,” he said.?
View Kuleba’s tweet here:
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Russia says its participation in the grain deal is suspended for an "indefinite period of time"
From CNN's Katharina Krebs in London
A bulk carrier enters the port of Odesa under the grain initiative on October 21.
Yulii Zozulia/Ukrinform/Abaca/Sipa USA
The Russian foreign ministry said it is suspending its participation in the United Nations-brokered grain deal with Ukraine for an “indefinite period of time,” tying the decision to a drone attack in Crimea on Saturday.
Both Ukraine and Britain have rejected Russian allegations, with the United Kingdom saying Russia is “peddling false claims of an epic scale.”
The Russian foreign ministry statement added that “corresponding instructions were given to Russian representatives at the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, which controls the transportation of Ukrainian grain.”
Although Russia blamed Saturday’s attack on Sevastopol for suspending its participation in the deal, Moscow has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the agreement in recent weeks.?
The deal was set to expire next month.
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Zelensky: Russia is "deliberately working to ensure starvation" with suspension from grain deal
From CNN’s Mariya Knight
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during his evening video message on Saturday October 29.
Office of President of Ukraine
Ukrainian President?Volodymyr Zelensky?called the decision of Russia to suspend its participation from the grain export deal with Ukraine “deliberate” and “a rather predictable statement” in his nightly address Saturday.
“This is not the decision they made today,”?Zelensky?said. “Russia began deliberately exacerbating the food crisis back in September, when it blocked the movement of ships with our food.”
That echoes previous charges he’s made about Russian interference with the program before Moscow officially backed out.
Zelensky?called on “a strong international reaction” to Russia’s?suspension from the grain deal , in particular from the UN and the G20.
