Summary
That’s it for the Ukraine blog.
Here is a summary of what has happened today:
Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain export deal, brokered by the UN and Turkey a year ago to alleviate a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blocked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict to be exported safely. It had been extended several times, but was due to expire today.
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said Russia’s decision to pull out of the Black Sea grain initiative was “unconscionable” and called for the year-old pact to be restored as quickly as possible, Reuters reported.
Russia said its decision not to extend the Black Sea grain deal was final with no more talks planned, state news agency Tass reported.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, demanded concrete proposals on ensuring the security of the bridge linking southern Russia to Crimea after what he called a “terrorist act” in the early hours of the morning that caused serious damage.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the attack was carried out by Kyiv. She did not provide any evidence and Ukraine did not confirm or deny her account. She said: “Today’s attack on the Crimean bridge was carried out by the Kyiv regime. This regime is terrorist and has all the hallmarks of an international organised crime group.”
Thank you for reading. Join us tomorrow for further developments in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Updated
The US will continue to work with other countries to move grain out of Ukraine after Russia discontinued its participation in the Black Sea grain deal, Reuters reports.
On Monday, Russia said it had quit the year-old pact and could not guarantee the safety of ships moving grain.
The UN said Monday’s announcement would “strike a blow to people in need everywhere”.
Updated
