Russia halted the Black Sea grain deal, heightening uncertainty over global food supplies by closing a crucial export route for Ukraine, one of the world’s top suppliers of wheat and vegetable oils. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he was holding “urgent consultations” with the United Nations on the withdrawal.
(Bloomberg) — Russia halted the Black Sea grain deal, heightening uncertainty over global food supplies by closing a crucial export route for Ukraine, one of the world’s top suppliers of wheat and vegetable oils. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he was holding “urgent consultations” with the United Nations on the withdrawal.
Moscow said that damage from blasts forced it to suspend road and rail traffic across the flagship Kerch Strait bridge that links Russia to occupied Crimea. The Kremlin blamed Kyiv for drone attacks that killed two people and shut Russia’s key artery for military and civilian access to the peninsula. President Vladimir Putin vowed to strike at Ukraine in retaliation. “Russia will, of course, respond,” he said late Monday.
Earlier, Putin discussed the US provision of cluster munitions to Ukraine in a TV interview, saying Russia would retaliate if the weapons — which have arrived in Ukraine — are used on its forces. Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe concluded last year that Kremlin forces had already used cluster bombs during its invasion.
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Markets
Benchmark Chicago wheat futures rose as much as 4.2% after Russia said it wouldn’t extend the Black Sea deal past its Monday expiration date.
Coming Up
- UN Security Council meeting Monday focused on Ukraine
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