End of the Grain Deal?
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Russia said on Monday that it was pausing its participation in an agreement that had allowed Ukraine to export its grain by sea despite a wartime blockade, upending a deal seen as essential to keeping global food prices stable.
The announcement appeared to deal the most serious blow yet to a year-old agreement that had been a rare example of fruitful negotiations between the warring nations, and had helped to alleviate part of the global fallout from Russia’s full-scale invasion. Ukraine is a major producer of grain and other foodstuffs, and the United Nations had warned that some countries in the Middle East and Africa faced famine if Kyiv could not export its goods via the Black Sea.
Russia demands include a relaxation of sanctions on its own agricultural sector and the restoration of an ammonia pipeline. There are some points that aren’t completely unreasonable (to the extent that conducting a blockade against food shipments from a country you’ve invaded can ever be described as “reasonable”) because the execution of secondary sanctions (sanctions on companies that do business with Russia) can be tricky and unpredictable and probably does scare off a lot of companies even when formal restrictions are relaxed.
In other news that may or may not be related, Ukrainians hit the Kerch Bridge again:
The Kerch Bridge, connecting Russia and the Crimean Peninsula has been closed after an incident in which portions of the bridge were damaged, according to Russian officials. Those officials are not saying what caused the damage, but Russian Telegram channels say the bridge was attacked by Ukraine.
If true, that would mark the second time since October that Vladimir Putin’s prized $4 billion span has been attacked. The bridge was previously struck in October.