Russia said on Monday that shipping through a Black Sea security corridor was ‘unacceptable’ after withdrawing from a deal brokered by Turkey and the UN that had allowed Ukraine to resume grain shipments.
The command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Ukrainian leadership exploit the security corridor to conduct military operations against the Russian Federation, thus the movement of ships along it is undesirable, according to a statement from the Russian defence ministry.
‘Under the current conditions, there can be no question of guaranteeing the security of any object in the indicated direction until the Ukrainian side accepts additional obligations not to use this route for military purposes.’
It was emphasised, meanwhile, that Russia was only suspending its observance of the pact. Following what it claimed was an attack by a Ukrainian drone on its Black Sea fleet, Moscow made this announcement on Saturday.
The ministry made no mention of what Russia would do if ships continued to use the route. A spokeswoman for the military administration of Odesa stated that despite Moscow’s announcement over the weekend, a record volume of 354,500 tonnes of agricultural products left Ukrainian ports as part of the grain deal on Monday.
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