Ukraine says Black Sea grain deal risks being shut down

Kyiv claimed on Monday that a U.N.-sponsored program permitting the secure transport of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea was in danger of “shutdown” as a result of Russia blocking inspections of participating ships in Turkish seas.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, three of its Black Sea ports were blockaded, but access to three of them was restored in July thanks to a settlement mediated by the UN and Turkey between Moscow and Kyiv.

The pact, which aims to address the global food crisis, was extended last month, but Ukraine claimed there were too few cargo ships bringing Ukrainian agricultural products across the Bosporus.

Under the heading “Grain initiative under threat of shutdown,” Ukraine’s rehabilitation ministry posted on Facebook that “an inspection plan (for participating vessels) has not been drawn up for the second time in nine months of operation of the Grain Initiative, and not a single vessel has been inspected.”

The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, highlighted the Bosporus backlog by tweeting that more than 50 ships were waiting for permission to enter Ukrainian ports “to load grain that will feed those who need it.”

Brink and the ministry did not receive a response from Russia, but the Kremlin stated that chances of the grain agreement being renewed were “not so bright.”

Moscow claims that a different agreement, under which the U.N. pledged to support Russia’s exports of food and fertilizer, is ineffective.

The reconstruction ministry of Ukraine claimed that Russian representatives were carrying out a “unacceptable” plan for inspecting warships in a Joint Coordination Center that went beyond the parameters of the program.

It stated that three vessels had been refused registration by Russian inspectors in the previous three days without any justification.

“Ukraine categorically rejects Russia’s latest demands and opposes its interference in the operation of Ukrainian ports,” the ministry declared.