Ukraine resumes its grain exports after Russia’s return to the agreement

Las Ukrainian grain exports They resumed this Wednesday after Russia returned to the agreement, mediated by the UN and Turkey, to establish a safe maritime corridor in the Black Sea.

The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogantold the Turkish parliament that Ukrainian grain exports would resume on Wednesday around noon through the corridor, following a phone call between the Turkish and Russian defense ministers.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed its return to the agreement after receiving “written guarantees” from Ukraine on the demilitarization of the corridor used for grain transport.

“Russia considers that the guarantees it has received so far seem sufficient and resumes the implementation of the agreement,” the ministry said in a statement.

The general secretary of the HIMAntónio Guterres, another guarantor of the agreement, “celebrated” Russia’s decision.

Since the pact was established, about 10 million tons of Ukrainian grains have been exported through the Black Sea.

The agreement made it possible to alleviate the global food crisis unleashed after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia at the end of February.

Under the terms of the agreement, sealed in July, ships entering and leaving Ukraine are inspected by a joint team of Turkish, UN, Ukrainian and Russian officials.

But Moscow announced on Saturday it was suspending its participation indefinitely after accusing Ukraine of a “massive” attack on its Black Sea fleet moored in Crimea.

A series of phone calls in recent days between Russian and Turkish officials, including one on Tuesday between Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and UN mediation, appear to have convinced Moscow to reconsider its position.

However, Putin warned that Russia reserved the right to “withdraw” from the agreement “in case of violation of these guarantees” offered by Ukraine.

nuclear threats

Amid diplomatic tensions, fears of a potential nuclear attack on Ukraine intensified after the US government declared itself “increasingly concerned about the possibility” of that happening, according to the US National Security spokesman. White House, John Kirby.

Some statements that followed the information that appeared in the New York Times, according to which, chiefs russian military they would have recently discussed the possibility of using a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine, that is, a bomb less powerful than a conventional nuclear warhead.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov called it “irresponsible” on Wednesday that the Western media “deliberately exaggerated the issue of nuclear weapons.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “the highest priority is to avoid any military confrontation between nuclear powers,” something that would have “catastrophic consequences.”

Recently, Russia accused Ukraine of trying to equip itself with a “dirty bomb”, accusations that kyiv and its Western allies rejected, considering that Moscow could be using them as a pretext for a military escalation, given the setbacks recorded by its troops in the land.

“We’ve gotten used to it”

At the front, the Ukrainian General Staff reported fighting, mainly in the east, and shelling of 25 towns in the east, center and south.

The governor of the eastern Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, reported the death of four civilians in the last 24 hours.

AFP journalists observed significant destruction in the town of Bilozirka, on the Kherson front, in the south, the regional capital where Russian forces have fortified positions in the face of a Ukrainian assault.

In Bilozirka, Russian forces are firing from the southern end of the road, where they have dug in since fleeing the town in March.

“At first, we thought that at some point this would end. But now it seems normal. We have gotten used to it,” said a young villager, Angelika Borysenko, 20.

On Monday, Russia held a new series of massive bombing against Ukrainian critical infrastructure, causing water and electricity cuts, especially in the capital, kyiv.

The Ukrainian operator, Ukrenergo, announced new electricity restrictions on Wednesday, and the mayor of kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, promised to deploy a thousand heating points so that the inhabitants face the winter.

Zelensky said Russian strikes had damaged 40% of Ukraine’s energy facilities, prompting the country to halt exports to the European Union, where prices are soaring.