AAt the request of Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is calling a meeting of the new NATO-Ukraine Council next Wednesday. The aim is to discuss the latest developments and to discuss the transport of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, said alliance spokeswoman Oana Lungescu on Saturday evening. The meeting should take place at ambassador level.
Shortly before the announcement, Stoltenberg had called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Stoltenberg said afterwards: “We strongly condemn Moscow’s attempt to use food as a weapon.” The allies would stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary. Zelenskyy said he and Stoltenberg had discussed the implementation of the agreements reached at the summit and further steps to integrate Ukraine into the Western Defense Alliance. Necessary steps have also been identified to unblock grain transport across the Black Sea and to ensure it in the long term. However, he did not say what those steps are.
Last Monday, Russia allowed an agreement concluded a year ago to export Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea to expire because, according to the Kremlin, Moscow’s demands for facilitation of its agricultural exports had not been met. Since the summer of last year, the agreement has enabled Ukraine to sell almost 33 million tons of grain and food to other countries by sea, despite the Russian war of aggression. Even during the war, Ukraine remained the World Food Program’s largest wheat supplier in 2022.
At the NATO summit in Vilnius a few days earlier, the 31 members of the defense alliance decided to further intensify cooperation with Ukraine and to establish the new NATO-Ukraine Council. A new multi-year support program was also approved.
Zelenskyj is pushing for the resumption of grain deliveries
Despite the expired grain agreement with Russia, Zelenskyy is pushing for grain exports to continue across the Black Sea. “Any destabilization in this region and the disruption of our export routes brings problems with corresponding consequences for everyone in the world,” he said in his daily video address on Saturday evening. The increase in food prices is the smallest problem.
New attack on port city of Odessa
According to local authorities, a civilian was killed in a night attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa. “Unfortunately, as a result of the night-time terrorist attack by the Russians on Odessa, one civilian died,” said the region’s governor, Oleg Kiper, on Sunday morning in the online service Telegram. Shortly before he had spoken of 18 injured, including four children. Of the injured, 14 were taken to the hospital, including three children.
According to Kiper, the night attack also caused material damage to “civilian infrastructure, residential buildings and religious institutions”. According to a video shared by the Odessa City Hall via Telegram, the Transfiguration Cathedral was damaged.
The chief of staff of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, called for more missile defense systems and tactical missiles for his country in view of the renewed Russian shelling.
Since the agreement on exporting Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports expired on Monday, Russia had repeatedly attacked the port cities of Odessa and Mykolaiv, according to Ukrainian sources. According to Kiev, Russia specifically targeted port infrastructure to make it impossible for Ukrainian grain exports to resume across the Black Sea. The Russian army assures that it only shells military installations.
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