UN Says Ships With Ukrainian Food Will Set Sail Monday Even As Russia Pulls Out Of Grain Deal

The envoys of Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations agreed to update Monday's schedule for the movement of vessels along the Black Sea "grain corridor" to 16 from14 vessels and confirmed the ships will set sail, in defiance of Russia decision to pull out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative over the weekend.

• Moscow indefinitely suspended its participation in the deal brokered by the UN and Turkey that allowed for partial resumption of Ukrainian grain exports from the seaports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny. Since the first vessel moved on August 1, almost 400 ships departed the three licensed ports, carrying 9mn tons of grain, with Spain being the top importer (1.8mn tons).
• Russia justified its decision citing Ukrainian drone strikes at its Black Sea Fleet ships at anchor in the Crimean seaport of Sevastopol, which Russia said were involved in ensuring the security of the "grain corridor." Moscow ramped up its anti-Western rhetoric, accusing "British specialists" of assisting the Ukrainian military in conducting the attacks.
• The Black Sea Grain Initiative was set to expire on November 19, but there were hopes that parties could return to the negotiation table and agree on an extension. This prospect has been dimming recently, amid military escalation on the ground. The abandonment of the deal risks exacerbating global inflationary pressures.
• Following the suspension of the deal, Deputy Federation Council Speaker Kosachev said that Russia intends to fully replace Ukrainian grain on the world market. Meanwhile, Russian news agency Ria Novosti cited an unnamed source noting that the decisions on the movement of ships along the "grain corridor" taken by Ukraine, Turkey and the UN "do not oblige Moscow to anything."