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Live: After brief suspension, Russia says Ukraine grain traffic to resume
Issued on: 02/11/2022 – 11:44
Modified: 02/11/2022 – 13:28
Ellie M, a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship carrying Ukrainian corn, waits for the inspection at the anchorage area of the Bosphorus southern entrance in Istanbul, Turkey October 10, 2022. 03:30
Ellie M, a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship carrying Ukrainian corn, waits for the inspection at the anchorage area of the Bosphorus southern entrance in Istanbul, Turkey October 10, 2022. © Mehmet Emin Caliskan, Reuters
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Ships carrying Ukrainian grain and agricultural products were briefly blocked in Black Sea ports Wednesday but resumed after Russia agreed to return to a Turkey and UN-brokered deal that would allow for the safe sea passage of vital grain exports. Follow our live blog for the latest developments. All times are Paris local time (GMT+1).
1:26pm: Ukraine grateful to Turkey, UN over Russia’s decision to return to grain deal
Senior Ukrainian officials expressed gratitude to Turkey and the United Nations on Wednesday for their roles in Russia’s decision to resume its participation in a deal to free up grain exports from Ukraine.
A senior official who declined to be identified said that Moscow’s decision was mainly a result of Turkish pressure on Russia. Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov separately expressed gratitude for the roles played by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
1:05pm: Britain sanctions four Russian oligarchs
Britain has sanctioned four Russian steel and petrochemical business owners, including the former head of steel producer Evraz, the government said on Wednesday, its latest measures taken against Moscow over the war in Ukraine. The sanctions include travel bans, asset freezes and transport sanctions.
Those sanctioned include Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov, who Britain described as known associates of oligarch Roman Abramovich, himself sanctioned earlier this year.
“Today we are sanctioning an additional four oligarchs who rely on Putin for their positions of authority and in turn fund his military machine,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said. “By targeting these individuals, we are ramping up the economic pressure on Putin and will continue to do so until Ukraine prevails.”
11:35am: Ukraine grain deal to resume on Wednesday
Russia’s participation in a Turkey and UN-brokered Ukrainian grain export deal was to resume on Wednesday, Moscow and Ankara said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had called Turkey’s Hulusi Akar and informed him that the grain corridor agreement would “continue in the same way as before” as of Wednesday.
Erdogan added that the deal would prioritise shipments to African nations, including Somalia, Djibouti and Sudan, in line with Russia’s concerns that most of the grain was ending up in richer nations.
11:16am: Russia to summon British ambassador over Black Sea Fleet drone strike
Russia will summon Britain’s ambassador to Moscow over what it said was the involvement of British specialists in a Ukrainian drone strike on its Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
Russia suspended participation in a UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative on Saturday after what it said was a major drone attack on vessels in the Bay of Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
“These actions were carried out under the guidance of British specialists,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Wednesday.
Britain has dismissed the assertion as false.
10:37am: Russia detains Ukrainian for plotting to sabotage Crimea power line
Russian security services have detained a Ukrainian citizen on suspicion of planning to “sabotage” a power line in Crimea, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Wednesday.
The FSB said a man in his 40s had been found carrying diagrams of power lines, three explosive devices and instructions on how to use them, and suspected the man had been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine over eight months ago, Moscow has repeatedly accused what it calls Ukrainian “saboteurs” of targeting its energy infrastructure, including in August when it blamed Ukraine for damaging an electricity substation in Russian-annexed Crimea. Ukraine did not claim involvement but officials have welcomed previous incidents, calling them “payback” for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
10:11am: Italy gas storage hits 95 percent capacity
Italy’s gas storage facilities are more than 95 percent full as the country prepares for a winter when supplies might be constrained by the war in Ukraine, gas grid operator Snam said on Wednesday.
Italy was a major importer of Russian gas but has moved to source supply from countries including Algeria, fill its storage tanks and reduce consumption. The country also experienced an unusually warm October, meaning Italians used less gas than predicted.
“The result achieved is essential for the coming winter and did not appear likely as recently as July when the 90 percent target itself seemed quite a challenge,” Snam CEO Stefano Venier said in a statement.
The gas stored is enough to provide around 25-30% of daily demand for the month of January, Snam said in its statement.
09:38am: Poland to build razor-wire fence on border with Russia’s Kaliningrad
Poland will build a razor-wire fence on its border with Russia’s exclave Kaliningrad, its defence minister said on Wednesday, amid concerns that the enclave might become a conduit for illegal migration.
Construction of the temporary 2.5-metre (8ft) high and 3-metre deep barrier will start immediately, Mariusz Blaszczak told a news conference.
With tensions rising due to the war in Ukraine, he cited security concerns and referred a crisis triggered last autumn when thousands of African and Middle-Eastern migrants tried to cross the Belarus border into Poland, some of whom died. The European Union at the time accused Belarus – a close ally of Russia – of flying the migrants in as part of a “hybrid” warfare campaign to destabilise Europe. Minsk denied wrongdoing.
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Online business magazine Russia Briefing reported last month that Kaliningrad is seeking to attract airlines from the Gulf and Asia under a new open skies policy.
7:37am: Ukrainian grain stuck in ports after Russia walks out of export deal
Ships loaded with Ukrainian grain, deemed essential for the world’s food supply, are stuck in Black Sea ports after Russia pulled out of a Turkey and UN-brokered deal that allowed for the safe sea passage of vital grain exports.
Russia suspended its participation after accusing Ukraine of misusing the safe shipping corridor for an attack on Russian ships in Crimea, an allegation Kyiv has dismissed as a “false pretext” to withdraw from the deal.
“The grain corridor needs reliable and long-term protection,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP, REUTERS)
