Kyiv’s allies were quick to condemn Russia’s decision to exit a deal brokered by Turkey and the UN allowing the export of Ukrainian grain from three ports. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was among those urging Moscow to reconsider, even as a legislator said Russia stood ready to “completely replace Ukrainian grain” on the world market.

Turkey’s defence chief was in talks with his counterparts, the ministry said, and vessels that had already arrived in the Istanbul area loaded with grain were being inspected, for now. Russia suspended the deal after drone strikes against its naval fleet.

Key developments

• Turkey says defence minister in talks on Ukraine grain deal 
• Iran’s oil minister heads to Russia on Monday for deal talks
• Cathay Pacific to restore some flights using Russian airspace
• Putin stirs EU worry on home appliance imports stripped for arms
• UK bans Russian LNG even though imports have already stopped

On the ground

Russia continued its offensive operations in the Bakhmut and Avdiivka area, Ukraine’s General Staff said. On Saturday, Ukrainian troops repelled attacks in several settlements in the Donetsk region. Russia continued to target critical infrastructure and civilian homes, and in the past day launched five missiles and 23 air strikes as well as more than 100 rockets. Kremlin troops shelled the northern Sumy region that borders Russia, and in the southern Mykolaiv region attacked the port area of Ochakiv. Some infrastructure was damaged as well as an apartment building and civilian garages, officials said. Belarus continued to support Russian troops under the recently formed joint initiative, and individual units continued to move into its territory, Ukraine said.

Zelensky aide rejects ‘invented’ claims on drone strike

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, called Russia’s claims that Kyiv had launched drones from Odesa and even potentially from a grain ship “invented”.

“Since the deal took effect, Russia hinted many times that it was ready to disrupt it,” he said. “It is the usual Russian tactic — to break its promises, to violate agreements, to blackmail and threaten.”

Moscow was looking for leverage ahead of the G20 meeting in Indonesia in mid-November, Podolyak added.

UN’s Guterres delays trip to focus on grain issue 

António Guterres will delay his departure for the Arab League summit in Algiers to focus on Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain initiative.

The UN secretary-general said he “continues to engage in intensive contacts” in a bid to reverse Moscow’s decision. In a statement, he also mentioned “removing the remaining obstacles to the exports of Russian food and fertiliser”.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he’d spoken to Guterres about the grain deal to “coordinate actions”, adding that “the EU will play its part to counter the global food crisis”.

Russia says drone could have been launched from grain ship  

Marine drones that hit Russian vessels off Sevastopol in annexed Crimea on Saturday were launched from Ukraine’s coast near Odesa, Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement on its Telegram account. The drones contained Canadian navigation modules, Russia added.

One of the drones could have been launched from a civilian vessel that was part of the Black Sea grain shipping initiative, the ministry said, without offering evidence.

Russia pulled out of the grain deal on Saturday following attacks on its Black Sea fleet, located well to the east of the grain shipment corridor between Ukraine’s Odesa and Turkey’s Istanbul region. Ukraine hasn’t commented on the strikes.

Turkey talking to Russia on grain deal 

Talks were under way with Russia on Sunday and would continue into Monday on the status of the Black Sea grain initiative, a Turkish official said.

The official said there were grounds for optimism despite Russia’s move on Saturday to pull out of the safe-transit deal “indefinitely”.

Outbound vessels that had already reached Istanbul were being inspected, but no new grain ships will sail from Ukraine for now, the Turkish official said.

World Food Programme wheat vessel blocked in port, says Ukraine 

The Ikaria Angel is loaded with 40,000 tonnes of wheat for Ethiopia and was set to sail from a Ukrainian port on Sunday, but has been held there after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain initiative, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a tweet.

The cargo was purchased under the UN’s World Food Programme, which supplies food to the neediest nations.

Iran’s oil minister heads to Russia

Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji will travel to Russia on Monday to discuss a $40-billion agreement with Gazprom to develop oil and gas fields in Iran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

Some 50 Iranian officials were already in Moscow for meetings, Tasnim said, adding that Owji’s visit marks the latest meeting of the Iran-Russia joint economic commission.

UN ‘discussing next steps’ on grain initiative

The UN’s Joint Coordination Centre for the Black Sea grain initiative said it was “discussing next steps” after Russia’s move on Saturday to exit the agreement.

In a statement late on Saturday, the centre confirmed that there was now no protocol in place for the movement of inbound or outbound vessels on Sunday.

On Saturday, nine vessels transited the maritime corridor established by the JCC, five outbound and four inbound.

Cathay Pacific to restore some flights using Russian airspace  

Cathay Pacific Airways will restart using Russian airspace several months after Moscow’s war in Ukraine upended the aviation industry and global flight paths, becoming among the earliest of major airlines to do so.

Hong Kong’s main airline will fly from New York using the so-called Polar Route from 1 November, the company said. It cited strong headwinds and payload issues affecting its flights from the east coast of North America, and said its aircraft would overfly the far eastern part of Russia.

Ukraine slams Russia’s ‘false pretext’ on grain deal 

Ukraine’s foreign minister said Moscow planned “well in advance” to pull out of the grain export initiative, and had used Saturday’s drone attacks off annexed Crimea as a “false pretext.”

The explosions near Sevastopol were 220km from the grain-shipping corridor on the western edge of the Black Sea, Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter. “Russia took the decision to resume its hunger games long ago.”

Russia on Saturday said some of the vessels targeted by drones had been involved in the safe-transit efforts. Ukraine hasn’t taken responsibility for the drone attack.

Moscow ‘ready to replace Ukrainian grain’

Konstantin Kosachev, the deputy Speaker of Russia’s Federation Council, said overnight that Moscow “is ready to completely replace Ukrainian grain on the world market” after pulling out of the Black Sea initiative.

Ukraine’s foreign minister said Russia was attempting a public relations stunt by offering grain “most likely stolen from Ukraine” while shutting the safe-transit export corridor from Ukraine.

“Russia blocks 2 million (!) tons of grain for Algeria, Yemen, Vietnam, Bangladesh & others RIGHT NOW,” Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter.

Biden calls Russian grain blockade ‘outrageous’ 

President Joe Biden denounced Russia’s announcement that it was suspending participation in a UN-brokered deal to allow the export of grain from Ukraine as “purely outrageous”.

“It’s going to increase starvation,” Biden said on Saturday after casting his midterm election ballot early in Wilmington, Delaware. “There’s no reason for them to do that. But they’re always looking for some rationale to be able to say the reason they’re doing something outrageous is because the West made them do it. And there’s just no merit to what they’re doing.”

Russia has said it was suspending the deal because of drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea Fleet.

Russia deliberately worsens food crisis, says Zelensky 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was “predictable” that Russia would suspend the deal to ease Ukrainian grain exports, saying 170 ships were already held up for Russian inspection.

“More than two million tonnes of food are in the sea,” Zelensky said in his nightly address. “Algeria, Egypt, Yemen, Bangladesh, Vietnam, others could all be destabilised by this Russian decision to block exports.”

Zelensky urged a strong international reaction to Russia’s decision, including from the UN and G20. “How can Russia be in the G20, if it is deliberately working for hunger on several continents?” he said. “This is nonsense.”

EU, UK condemn Russia grain block

The EU condemned Russia’s announcement that it would suspend exports of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports. The export programme is “a critical humanitarian effort that is clearly having a positive impact on access to food for millions of people around the world”, said EU spokesperson Nabila Massrali.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly tweeted that the deal with Russia to export grain was “instrumental to global food security”.

Russia pulls out of grain deal after drone attack

Russia’s defence ministry said it was halting involvement in a deal allowing the safe transit of exports of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports following drone strikes against its naval vessels.

The foreign ministry called the suspension “indefinite” and said its representatives at the coordination centre in Istanbul had been sent relevant instructions.

More than nine million tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs have been shipped under the deal since August. Ukraine’s Grain Association has said exports could reach 50 million tonnes if shipments are allowed to proceed. DM