UKRAINE: Russia said Wednesday it is resuming its participation in an agreement facilitating the shipment of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.
“The Russian Federation considers that the guarantees received at the moment appear sufficient, and resumes the implementation of the agreement,” the defense ministry said in a statement.
Russia suspended its participation Saturday after alleging Ukraine used drones to attack the Russian Black Sea fleet.
The United Nations and Turkey brokered agreement with Russia and Ukraine to resume Ukrainian grain shipments and allow for Russian shipments of fertilizer in July amid a global food crisis.
Russia’s suspension interrupted shipments in recent days, while the other parties to the scheme worked to get some shipments out of Ukrainian ports and to carry out some of the inspections in Istanbul called for under the deal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Tuesday that the grain corridor “needs reliable and long-term protection.”
“Russia should clearly know that it will receive a tough response from the world to any steps that disrupt our food exports,” Zelenskyy said. “This is literally a matter of life for tens of millions of people.”
Iranian weapons
The Pentagon on Tuesday also raised “concerns” that Russia may try to get more weapons from Iran to use in its war against Ukraine.
Russia recently has targeted civilian infrastructure with Iranian-made drones, and Iranian personnel are helping the Russian military launch these drone attacks from the Crimean Peninsula, according to the United States.
“We do have concerns that Russia may also seek to acquire additional advanced munition capabilities from Iran, for example, surface-to-surface missiles, to use in Ukraine,” Ryder said.
The Atlanta-based cable news network, CNN, reported that Iran is preparing to send Russia approximately 1,000 additional weapons, including surface-to-surface, short-range ballistic missiles and more suicide drones.
VOA
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