Russia Strikes Grain Port Cities of Ukraine - Odesa and Mykolaiv
Early this morning, Russia carried out missile strikes on Odesa, one of Ukraine's major grain ports. This comes after Russia's repeated threats to take action in response to the explosion of the Crimean Bridge, which connects Russia to the occupied Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula, according to Reuters.
The bridge, constructed by Russia after the annexation of Crimea, links the Krasnodar region of Russia with the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula and serves as a crucial military supply route for Russia's further aggression in Ukraine.
On Monday, Moscow accused Ukraine of being behind the explosion, although Ukraine has not confirmed its involvement. However, Russia not only continues its terrorist activities in Ukraine but also poses a threat to Europe and the world.
Yesterday, Russia announced its withdrawal from the "grain deal" and completely revoked the guarantees of security in the Black Sea grain corridor, where Russian military ships with missiles on board are present.
Yesterday, in response to journalists' questions about the precise wording in Russia's letter to the Joint Coordination Center, in which it declared its withdrawal from the agreement, the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, stated that the document used the term "terminated" regarding Russia's participation.
However, he declined to quote the "full sentence," stating that it also referred to the revocation of security guarantees for the northwestern part of the Black Sea.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, who attended the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in his country on Monday, acknowledged that diplomats were debating whether Russia had terminated or merely suspended its participation in the agreement.
"Russia itself, you know, avoids clarity because in one text, they talk about termination. Then in another comment, they talk about suspension," he told journalists, adding that it is too early to say how the situation will develop.
During the Security Council meeting, Kuleba stated that Russia must stop playing "hunger games" with people worldwide and restore its participation in the agreement in good faith.
It should be noted that despite the ongoing war, the latest ship that departed from Ukraine through the maritime corridor left the port of Odesa on Sunday and arrived in Istanbul on Monday.
The Black Sea grain deal, signed in July 2022, consisted of two separate documents: one signed by the UN, Turkey, and Ukraine regarding agricultural product deliveries to African countries, and another document signed by the UN, Turkey, and Russia. Russia, through coercion and threats, once again demanded the lifting of global sanctions imposed for its military aggression against Ukraine.
In a similar situation in the past, the grain agreement's validity was extended multiple times.