MOSCOW: Russia halted participation on Monday in the year-old UN-brokered deal which lets Ukraine export grain through the Black Sea, just hours after a blast knocked out Russia’s bridge to Crimea in what Moscow called a strike by Ukrainian sea drones.
Russia said two civilians were killed in what Moscow cast as a terrorist attack on the road bridge, a major artery for Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.
The Kremlin said there was no link between the attack and its decision to suspend the grain deal, which it says must also ease restrictions on Russian food and fertiliser exports.
“In fact, the Black Sea agreements ceased to be valid today,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. “Unfortunately, the part of these Black Sea agreements concerning Russia has not been implemented so far, so its effect is terminated,” he said.
Images showed a section of the road bridge had come down and traffic was halted in both directions, although a parallel railway bridge was still operational. Blasts were reported before dawn on the 19-km bridge, which Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered built after seizing and annexing the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.
Kyiv gave no official account of the blasts. It typically does not comment on reports of attacks in Crimea or in Russia, but has long maintained that the bridge was built illegally, and its use by Russia for military supplies makes it a legitimate target. Russia reopened the bridge after it was last hit by a massive explosion and fire in October.
Russia’s suspension of the Black Sea grain deal could drive up food prices across the globe, especially in the poorest countries. Ukraine and Russia are both among the world’s biggest exporters of grain and other foodstuffs.