INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
the benefits for itself, independent experts told The Moscow Times."The strikes on port infrastructure are a [form of] pressure on Kyiv and
on transportation companies
former European Union official told The Moscow Times on condition of anonymity.Stock markets reacted with sharp price rallies immediately
after Russia pulled out of the deal and threatened to strike ships heading to Ukrainian ports, as well as after an early Monday surprise
drone attack on Ukrainian port infrastructure on the Danube, which runs through NATO member Romania.In the Turkey and UN-mediated deal
market despite international sanctions and agreeing to reconnect its agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank to the SWIFT payments system.Since it
was agreed last July, the grain deal had allowed for the export of almost 33 million metric tons of food through Ukrainian ports, the UN
promising in a letter to Putin that he would help reconnect Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT.Gutteres also attempted to persuade the EU to fulfill at
way.' Because in terms of sanctions, it would be a step backward
Our principles are more important to us than what will happen with Ukrainian grain," the source said, citing internal EU discussions.The
there was no chance of keeping the deal alive," the EU source said.The deal had been extended several times over the past year, likely
thanks to Russia-Turkey bilateral relations as well as personal arrangements between Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip
shifted in Turkey's favor
Trade turnover between the countries increased by 80% in 2022, as Turkey remained the only NATO member to refrain from sanctioning Russia or
the main mediators between the two, Ruslan Suleymanov, an expert on the Middle East, told the Moscow Times.As a result, Erdogan is now
the Kremlin deferred to the Turkish president" to help him appear important on the world stage, Suleymanov said.Destroyed hangars with grain
in the port of Odesa.Operational Command 'South'In addition, the Kremlin now seeks to bolster Russia's image as a "friend of Africa," Boris
Bondarev, a former diplomat at Russia's UN mission in Geneva, the only one to publicly resign over the Ukraine war, told The Moscow
Times.Russia is expected to position itself as a leading food supplier for African countries, which have been acutely impacted by the global
Petersburg.The attack on Ukraine's Black Sea ports after the grain deal withdrawal was expected, but not critical for Ukraine, as food and
deliver freight directly to Turkey, Greece and other countries without the need for its blockaded Black Sea ports, said Andrei Sizov, a
This time they are really trying to limit Ukrainian exports."The deal may no longer be as important for Erdogan now that he has won
re-election, but there is still a possibility that he will attempt to revive it, says Suleymanov.The Carnegie Politika analytical
the port of Odesa.Operational Command 'South'Many parties remain interested in the deal, including Ukraine, the UN, countries in Africa and
the Middle East, and the West, so there is still a chance it could be revived, David Sharp, an expert on the Israeli military, told the
Moscow Times.However, Ukraine's tolerance for risk will continue to grow as long as its civilian infrastructure is hit nearly every day, as
evidenced by the strikes on the Crimean bridge, said Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies in
This kind of spiral can be dangerous because, as the whole course of the conflict has shown, the country has conventional means of
