RUSSIA AND UKRAINE DEAL

1. Context

2. What is the grain export deal?

• The deal makes provisions for the safe passage of ships.
• It foresees the establishment of a control center in Istanbul, to be staffed by U.N., Turkish, Russian, and Ukrainian officials, to run and coordinate the process.
• Ships would undergo inspections to ensure they are not carrying weapons.
• Ukraine was expected to export 22 million tons of grain and other agricultural products that have been stuck in Black Sea ports due to the war.
• Guterres first raised the critical need to get Ukraine’s agricultural production and Russia’s grain and fertilizer back into world markets in late April during meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
• He proposed a package deal in early June amid fears that the war was endangering food supplies for many developing nations and could worsen hunger for up to 181 million people.
• Russian and Ukrainian officials have blamed each other for the blocked grain shipments.

3. Why was the grain export deal signed?

• Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, corn, and sunflower oil, but Russia’s invasion of the country and naval blockade of its ports have halted shipments.
• Some grain is being transported through Europe by rail, road, and river, but the prices of vital commodities like wheat and barley have soared during the nearly five-month war.
• Ukrainian and Russian military delegations reached a tentative agreement last week on a U.N. plan that would also allow Russia to export its grain and fertilizers.
• Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine’s president, stressed Friday that Ukraine and Russia would sign separate agreements.

4. Ukraine in Global Food Supply

5. Why was the movement of grains halted till now?

• Moscow accused Ukraine of failing to remove sea mines at the ports to allow safe shipping and insisted on its right to check incoming ships for weapons.
• Ukraine has argued that Russia’s port blockade and launching of missiles from the Black Sea made any shipments unviable.
• Ukraine has sought international guarantees that the Kremlin wouldn’t use the safe corridors to attack the Black Sea port of Odesa.
• Ukrainian authorities have also accused Russia of stealing grain from eastern Ukraine and deliberately shelling Ukrainian fields to set them on fire.