Russia Rejects Ukraine’s Black Sea Shipping Truce Proposal, Zelenskyy Says

Ukraine offered Russia a deal to stop attacks on ships carrying agricultural goods through the Black Sea, but Russia rejected it because it wanted Ukraine to stop attacking its energy infrastructure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday.

Russia and Ukraine have increased attacks on commercial ships and ports in the Black Sea. The fighting has raised concerns about grain supplies to global markets, particularly during the current harvest season.

Russia and Ukraine together account for more than a quarter of global wheat exports.

Ukraine’s Greater Odesa ports handle about 90% of the country’s grain shipments. Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said on Thursday that Ukraine had exported about 500,000 tonnes of grain since the start of August, around one-fifth of its potential shipments.

Russia has also faced disruption to its grain exports. Earlier this month, three of its largest grain terminals at the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk stopped operating after being damaged.

Russia’s Agriculture Ministry is considering other routes for grain exports because of the disruption to shipping.

Russia rejects ceasefire proposals

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that he had rejected ceasefire proposals from Kyiv, calling them “unacceptable” and, in some cases, “exotic”. He did not give details about the proposals.

“We are always open to dialogue about peace, but only on the basis of the realities on the ground,” Putin told a Russian state television reporter.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was willing to discuss a ceasefire covering energy infrastructure, but only if both sides agreed to the same terms.

“If you are ready to talk on equal terms, then let’s talk,” he said. “If it’s about agriculture, then agriculture; if it’s about energy, then energy. If it’s about a full ceasefire, then a full ceasefire.”

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces struck Ukraine’s Yuzhny port in the Odesa region overnight. The ministry said the attack hit five fuel tanks and infrastructure used to load and unload cargo.

Foreign vessels proposed for grain exports

Zelenskyy said he had also suggested to several foreign leaders, whom he did not name, that vessels from their countries could be used to transport both Ukrainian and Russian agricultural goods.

He said he knew Russia was not ready to accept the proposal.

The Ukrainian president also ruled out holding elections while the war continues. The idea had been raised last week by former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

“If we want to tear the country apart, then we can move toward elections in the middle of a war like this,” Zelenskyy said, describing such a move as a “tsunami” for Ukraine.

Ukraine’s constitution does not allow elections under martial law, which was introduced after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukraine last held presidential and parliamentary elections in 2019.

Fedorov’s removal as defence minister last month led to protests in Kyiv and other major cities, although those demonstrations have since subsided.

His call for elections received a mostly negative response in Ukraine, with critics pointing to continued Russian attacks and the difficulties of allowing millions of displaced Ukrainians to take part.

Zelenskyy also said Ukraine was seeking 300 Patriot missiles for its air-defence systems ahead of winter.

He has repeatedly said Ukraine faces shortages of air-defence interceptors as Russia has increased air attacks on Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities.

References: Bloomberg, NDTVProfit