The US and EU have criticised Russia’s decision to pull the plug on a major wartime deal that has unblocked the passage of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, with Washington calling it a “purely outrageous” action that risked increasing starvation.
Moscow on Saturday suspended its participation in the UN-backed deal with Kyiv, linking its decision to an attack earlier that day on ships in the port of Sevastopol in the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Ukraine called this a “false pretext”.
“The United States regrets Russia’s suspension of its participation in the operations of the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative. We urge all parties to keep this essential, life-saving Initiative functioning,” US secretary of state Antony Blinken said in a statement.