Russian forces will deem any ship in the Black Sea bound for a Ukrainian port to be a potential carrier of military cargo and their home countries to be “involved” in the conflict, the Ministry of Defense in Moscow said on Wednesday, in a significant escalation of tension in the Black Sea and a blow to Ukraine’s ability to export its grain.
Coming two days after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal, the declaration appeared to signal that Moscow would consider commercial ships to be legitimate military targets and the ships’ home countries to be aiding Ukraine. While the statement did not say explicitly how Russia’s Navy would respond to a ship bound for Ukraine, the statement will almost certainly deter commercial shipping.
The announcement sent wheat prices rocketing. Chicago wheat futures, a global benchmark for wheat prices, rose by as much as 9 percent following Russia’s statement, their biggest upward percentage move since the war broke out in February of last year. Prices remained 8 percent higher for the day heading into afternoon trading.
“All vessels sailing in the waters of the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports will be regarded as potential carriers of military cargo,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. “Accordingly, the countries of such vessels will be considered to be involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kyiv regime.” The decision, the ministry said, would take effect at midnight on Wednesday.
In addition, Russia said that it would consider some areas of the northwestern and southeastern parts of the Black Sea dangerous for navigation and that it had withdrawn conventional safety guarantees for sailors. The main ports that Ukraine has used for grain exports, including in the city of Odesa, are situated in the northwestern Black Sea.
The Kremlin had announced on Monday that it would not extend a deal signed almost a year ago, the Black Sea Grain Initiative, under which Ukraine had been able to ship its grain — one of the country’s most important exports and a significant contributor to the world’s supplies — despite an effective blockade of the Black Sea by Russia’s Navy.
Ukraine’s exports are an important factor in the stability of global grain prices, supplying key Russian trading partners like China and also sending grain to some nations in the Middle East and Africa that face hunger. The U.N. secretary general, António Guterres, said on Monday that he was “deeply disappointed” by the Kremlin’s decision.
After Monday’s announcement, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that he hoped it would be possible to continue exporting grain via the Black Sea despite Russia’s position, under a separate agreement Ukraine signed with Turkey and the United Nations, both of which had brokered the original agreement. While such a plan would have many obstacles to overcome, the statement by the Russian Ministry of Defense, however, would appear to have put it to a definitive end.
Wheat prices had already risen 5 percent over the course of Monday and Tuesday, following Russia’s initial decision to back out of the grain deal. Still, prices remain well below levels reached when the war first began, and are even below levels reached at the start of the year.
Dmitri S. Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, intimated that the decision to regard cargo ships as military targets was intended to prevent Ukraine from hiding military operations under the guise of grain imports and exports.
“Certain risks emerge there without appropriate security guarantees,” he said.
Under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, ships passing through the Bosporus Strait to and from Ukraine have been inspected to make sure they are not carrying any prohibited goods, including military cargo.
— Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Joe Rennison
Coming two days after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal, the declaration appeared to signal that Moscow would consider commercial ships to be legitimate military targets and the ships’ home countries to be aiding Ukraine. While the statement did not say explicitly how Russia’s Navy would respond to a ship bound for Ukraine, the statement will almost certainly deter commercial shipping.
The announcement sent wheat prices rocketing. Chicago wheat futures, a global benchmark for wheat prices, rose by as much as 9 percent following Russia’s statement, their biggest upward percentage move since the war broke out in February of last year. Prices remained 8 percent higher for the day heading into afternoon trading.
“All vessels sailing in the waters of the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports will be regarded as potential carriers of military cargo,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. “Accordingly, the countries of such vessels will be considered to be involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kyiv regime.” The decision, the ministry said, would take effect at midnight on Wednesday.
In addition, Russia said that it would consider some areas of the northwestern and southeastern parts of the Black Sea dangerous for navigation and that it had withdrawn conventional safety guarantees for sailors. The main ports that Ukraine has used for grain exports, including in the city of Odesa, are situated in the northwestern Black Sea.
The Kremlin had announced on Monday that it would not extend a deal signed almost a year ago, the Black Sea Grain Initiative, under which Ukraine had been able to ship its grain — one of the country’s most important exports and a significant contributor to the world’s supplies — despite an effective blockade of the Black Sea by Russia’s Navy.
Ukraine’s exports are an important factor in the stability of global grain prices, supplying key Russian trading partners like China and also sending grain to some nations in the Middle East and Africa that face hunger. The U.N. secretary general, António Guterres, said on Monday that he was “deeply disappointed” by the Kremlin’s decision.
After Monday’s announcement, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that he hoped it would be possible to continue exporting grain via the Black Sea despite Russia’s position, under a separate agreement Ukraine signed with Turkey and the United Nations, both of which had brokered the original agreement. While such a plan would have many obstacles to overcome, the statement by the Russian Ministry of Defense, however, would appear to have put it to a definitive end.
Wheat prices had already risen 5 percent over the course of Monday and Tuesday, following Russia’s initial decision to back out of the grain deal. Still, prices remain well below levels reached when the war first began, and are even below levels reached at the start of the year.
Dmitri S. Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, intimated that the decision to regard cargo ships as military targets was intended to prevent Ukraine from hiding military operations under the guise of grain imports and exports.
“Certain risks emerge there without appropriate security guarantees,” he said.
Under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, ships passing through the Bosporus Strait to and from Ukraine have been inspected to make sure they are not carrying any prohibited goods, including military cargo.
— Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Joe Rennison
Ships Bound for Ukraine Will Be Considered Hostile, Russia Says
The comments by Moscow’s Defense Ministry came after Russia withdrew from a deal allowing Ukraine to ship grain, and after strikes that Ukraine said were aimed at grain infrastructure.
www.nytimes.com
Ships Bound for Ukraine Will Be Considered Hostile, Russia Says
The comments by Moscow’s Defense Ministry came after Russia withdrew from a deal allowing Ukraine to ship grain, and after strikes that Ukraine said were aimed at grain infrastructure.
