Russia says ready to open ‘grain corridor’ only if Ukraine stops misusing it for military attacks

New Delhi, Nov 1: Alleging that Ukraine has resorted to using grain corridor for military purposes, Russia has suspended implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative indefinitely.

The United Nations-backed agreement was signed by Russia, Ukraine and Turkey in Istanbul on July 22 in order to give global access to Ukrainian food products and Russian food and fertilizer.

Moscow has claimed that on the morning of October 29, the Ukrainian armed forces, "under the cover" of the humanitarian grain corridor created as part of the Black Sea Initiative, launched massive air and sea strikes against the ships and infrastructure of the Russian Black Sea Fleet at the naval base in Sevastopol.

The attack on Russian ships involved in ensuring the security of the grain corridor for the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports, it said, involved nine unmanned aerial vehicles and seven autonomous underwater drones.

Earlier today, at a meeting of the UN Security Council in connection with the suspension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia's Permanent Representative Vasily Alekseyevich Nebenzya said that experts who examined the wreckage of marine unmanned vehicles -- and subsequently the Canadian-made navigation modules installed on them -- found out that the launch of these marine drones was carried out from the coast near the city of Odessa.

"They moved along the security zone of the grain corridor, after which they changed the route in the direction of Sevastopol in the Russian Crimea. At the same time, the coordinates of the movement of one of the vehicles indicate the starting point directly in the sea area of the grain corridor security zone. This may indicate the launch of a drone from one of the civilian ships chartered by Kyiv and its Western curators to export agricultural products," said Nebenzya.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, the preparation of this "terrorist attack" was carried out by Kyiv "under the guidance of British specialists" located in the port of Ochakov, Mykolaiv region of Ukraine.

"Also noteworthy is the presence on Saturday in the sky over the Black Sea near the coast of Crimea of the US strategic reconnaissance drone RQ-4? Global Hawk," stated Russia's UN Ambassador.

Insisting that it cannot guarantee the safety of civilian dry cargo ships participating in the Black Sea Initiative, Russia suspended its implementation immediately after the Sevastopol incident.