IRIA News

Russian Navy conducted a live-fire naval exercise in the northwestern part of the Black Sea on July 21, 2023. The exercise comes days after Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and announced that it would consider ships traveling to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports as potential military targets.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense released a statement on the Telegram saying that the Black Sea fleet of the Russian Navy “carried out live firing of anti-ship cruise missiles at the target ship in the combat training range in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.” The statement said that the target ship was “destroyed as a result of a missile strike.”

The statement also added that “during the joint exercise, the ships and fleet aviation undertook measures to isolate the area temporarily closed to navigation, and also carried out a set of measures to detain the offending ship.”

After terminating the grain agreement this week, Moscow has warned of “risks” to establishing shipment routes in the area without its participation. Two days ago, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that cargo ships en route to Ukrainian ports through the Black Sea would be regarded as possibly carrying military cargo and would be treated as a naval threat.

In response, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian forces would also consider all ships traveling to Russian and Russian-occupied ports on the Black Sea as potential carriers of military cargo. Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that the Ukrainian armed forces have the means to repel the “Russian aggression” at sea.

Black Sea Grain Initiative 

Russia has escalated its military activities in the Black Sea region, especially after scrapping the extension possibilities for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement that facilitated the exports of Ukrainian grains amid the war. The one-year agreement, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, expired on July 17 as Kremlin refused an extension. The grain agreement was reached to alleviate a global food crisis after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Attack on the Ukrainian port

Soon after pulling out of the Black Sea grain deal on July 17, Russian forces hit the Ukrainian port cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv with missiles and drones.

According to Ukrainian sources, at least two people died and more than 20 people were wounded during the attack. The attack also damaged port infrastructure, including residential and administrative buildings.

Ukraine claims that the Russian attack on the port city has destroyed 60,000 tons of grain meant for export. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of “deliberately” targeting the supplies. Kyiv says that it is prepared to continue exporting grains through the Black Sea route, despite Russia’s pulling out of the deal.

Pressure on Russia for restoration of grain deal

International pressure has been mounting on Moscow for the restoration of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The European Union described the move as “cynical”, and condemned Russia’s exit from the Ukraine grain export deal.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who played an important part in arranging the deal, said that he deeply regrets Russia’s decision to terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative, in effect ending a “lifeline” for hundreds of millions worldwide facing hunger and spiraling food costs.  A UN body has warned that the termination deal could push as many as 47 million people into “acute food insecurity”.

Humanitarian organizations such as World Food Program (WFP) warned that blocking the grain shipment from Ukraine could create food shortages and put millions of people around the world at risk of severe hunger.

On July 21, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the extension of the Black Sea grain deal over a phone call. Turkish media reported that Erdogan told Zelenskyy that Turkiye will continue to strive to ensure peace.

A day earlier, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba traveled to Islamabad where he and his counterpart in Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari emphasized the urgency to revive the agreement “to return balance to the global food market to return prices under control.” Pakistani foreign minister said that he will reach out to the UN Secretary-General and his counterparts in Turkiye and Russia to help restore the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Putin warns Poland against aggression against Belarus

Meanwhile, on July 21, Moscow said will treat any aggression against its neighbor and ally Belarus would be considered an attack on Russia itself.

Citing reports of plans for a Polish-Lithuanian unit to be used for operations in western Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said “As far as Belarus is concerned, it is part of the Union State. Unleashing aggression against Belarus will mean aggression against the Russian Federation.”

He stated that Russia will use “all means at its disposal” to defend Belarus. Poland, a NATO member, denied any territorial ambitions in Ukraine or Belarus.