Vessel tracking data shows clearly today that grain exports by ship from Ukraine are having to take a more circuitous route inland following Russia’s decision yesterday to pull out of the UN-backed Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Russia’s decision to halt its participation in the deal that allowed Ukraine to ship grain through the Black Sea via three ports has dealt another blow to food security, global leaders have warned.
Russia officially pulled out of the deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey on Monday, insisting that a separate agreement to facilitate its shipments of food and fertiliser had not been fulfilled.
“Today’s decision by the Russian Federation will strike a blow to people in need everywhere. But it will not stop our efforts to facilitate the unimpeded access to global markets for food products and fertilisers from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation,” UN Secretary General António Guterres said yesterday.
The White House said Russia’s suspension of the pact “will worsen food security and harm millions” with secretary of state Antony Blinken describing the move as “unconscionable” and weaponising food.
The UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, said Russia had obstructed the proper operation of the deal for several months. “In doing so, Russia is serving its own interests and disregarding the needs of all those around the world, including in the poorest countries, who are paying higher food prices as a result.”
However, the Russian foreign ministry claimed that the export of Ukrainian food was “almost immediately transferred to a purely commercial basis and until the last moment was directed to serving the selfish interests of Kyiv and its Western curators”.
Ukraine’s ports were closed until the agreement was made in July of last year, and it is unclear whether grain will be shipped from these places following Russia’s withdrawal. Turkey’s president hinted yesterday that Russia may still relent and renew the deal in the coming days.
War risk insurance premiums imposed for entering the Black Sea area are expected to rise, and shipowners may be hesitant to allow their vessels to enter a war zone without Russia’s permission.
“Even without the Russian Federation, everything must be done so that we can use this Black Sea corridor. We are not afraid,” Serhiyi Nykyforov, a Ukrainian press secretary, quoted president Volodymyr Zelenskiy as saying. “We were approached by companies, shipowners. They said that they are ready. If Ukraine lets them go, and Turkey continues to let them through, then everyone is ready to continue supplying grain.”
Zelenskiy said he spoke with Guterres on Monday about trying to renew Black Sea shipments.
“The topic is obvious – this is another Russian attempt to weaponize hunger and destabilise the global food market. The terrorist state has endangered the lives of 400m people in various countries that depend on Ukrainian food exports.
“The Black Sea Grain Initiative must be preserved. We have agreed with Mr Guterres to work together with the responsible states to restore food security and food supply via the Black Sea routes,” Zelenskiy said.
Ukrainian officials will be keeping an eye on water levels along the Danube this summer as more grain exports look likely to be shifted along Europe’s longest river.
“With Russia effectively blocking the operation of the grain corridor, we need to be ready to receive almost the entire export volume of the new harvest through the Danube ports,” Dmytro Barinov, the deputy head of the Ukraine Sea Ports Authority, said in a Facebook post last month.
Kyiv is keen to deepen the Bystre Canal on the Danube to allow larger vessels to transit.
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