The decision to withdraw Russia from the agreement came as a result of attacks on ships in the Crimean peninsula, the Russian Defense Ministry wrote in Telegram.

According to Russian authorities, a minesweeper in Russia’s Black Sea fleet was destroyed in a drone strike against Sevastopol in Crimea early in the morning on Saturday. Authorities have accused Ukraine of being behind the attack.

Ukraine criticized the decision, calling it a “false pretext” for citing drone strikes as the reason.

– Moscow uses false pretenses to block the grain corridor that contributes to food security for millions of people. I call on all countries to demand that Russia stop this power play on hunger and better keep its commitments, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

UN calls for the agreement to be continued

Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev said according to Russian news agencies scavenge that Russia, with help from Turkey, is in fact ready to export up to 500,000 tonnes of grain to poorer countries over the next four months.

Turkish security sources, for their part, said that Turkey was not officially notified that Russia would be suspending the grain agreement with Ukraine.

A spokesman for the UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the parties to uphold the agreement.

– It is imperative that all parties refrain from actions that jeopardize the Black Sea Treaty. The deal is a very important humanitarian act, said spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

He stressed that the agreement has had a positive impact on food access for millions of people around the world. He also said that Guterres’ office was in touch with Russian authorities on the matter.

Russian blockade

Until the war started in February, Ukraine was one of the world’s largest exporters of grain, corn and sunflower oil. But exports stopped completely as a result of the Russian blockade. In July, exports resumed after Russia and Ukraine signed separate but similar agreements with Turkey and the United Nations on grain shipments from the Ukrainian port city of Odesa.

The agreement made it possible to export more than 9 million tons of Ukrainian grain, mainly to the Third World. This has eased some of the global food crises that emerged as a result of the war, although uncertainty about the future of the agreement has caused food prices to rise again.

But even before Saturday’s announcement, there were signals from the Russian side that they would not extend the agreement if sanctions on Russian fertilizer exports were not lifted.

The original agreement on grain exports will be in effect for 120 days, with a possible update on November 19 “if neither side opposes it”.