Ukraine has suspended its Black Sea export corridor just days after committing to delivering almost 70,000 tonnes of grain to three African countries.
The suspension is due to a possible threat from Russian warplanes and sea mines.
The announcement was made in a statement, seen by Just Food, from the Kyiv-based Barva Invest consultancy.
It said the suspension applies to today only (26 October) but warned that it could be extended.
It said: “Such a de facto suspension has already been in place for the past two days due to the decision of the military, which cited the ‘explosive threat’ that arose as a result of increased Russian aviation activity.”
It quoted Nataliya Gumenyuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Joint Co-ordination Center of the Southern Operational Command, as saying: “For several days, Russian aircraft were not observed approaching the sea lanes. However, they eventually became active and dropped four explosive devices.”
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By GlobalData
Barva, which specialises in Ukraine’s agriculture sector, added: “It is important to note that these events may indicate attempts by the Russian Federation to discredit the armed forces of Ukraine and obstruct the movement of ships. We will continue to monitor the situation and update you as new information becomes available.”
Ukrainian officials declined to comment on the matter when contacted by news agency Reuters.
The corridor is intended to circumvent a blockade after Russia abandoned a deal this summer that had guaranteed the export of Black Sea grain – much of which is intended for poorer nations. About 700,000 metric tonnes of grain have been exported through the corridor since it began operating in August.
On Tuesday (24 October), Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Mykola Solskyi, said that as part of President Zelenskyy’s ‘Grain from Ukraine’ initiative it planned to send 25,000 tonnes of grain to Nigeria, 32,000 tonnes to Sudan and 12,500 tonnes to Somalia.
The Black Sea export deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey collapsed in July after Russia complained its demand that sanctions on its grain and fertiliser exports be lifted as a quid pro quo for the deal continuing had not been met.
Ukraine’s attempts to export grain via overland routes have suffered from import bans in a number of neighbouring countries, which are concerned about the impact on their domestic farming industry from bulk imports of cheaper Ukrainian grain.
