Crimea Bridge attack sparks diplomatic fallout: Russia scraps Black Sea grain deal

The Kremlin has announced that the Black Sea grain deal with Ukraine is effectively over. This announcement came just hours after the Moscow-Crimea bridge was attacked and Ukraine’s forces claimed responsibility, with Russia terming the incident as a “terror attack.”

While two people lost their lives and a child was injured, the Kremlin is willing to reinstate the agreement if certain conditions are met.

The grain deal, negotiated by the UN and Turkey in July last year, was designed to mitigate a worldwide food crisis by safely exporting Ukrainian grain, which had been blocked due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Although the agreement had been prolonged multiple times, it was set to expire on July 17. For months, Russia has maintained that the prerequisites for the deal’s extension have not been met.

In relation to the Crimean Bridge attack, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin stated that a timeline for the bridge’s restoration would be finalized by the evening. Khusnullin, who was in charge of reconstructing the bridge after the first explosion in October 2022, mentioned that Russia is currently inspecting the damage from the new explosion.

While alternate routes, including ferry services and expedited passages through other Ukrainian territories annexed by Moscow, are being planned, the Governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, confirmed the deaths of a married couple in the Crimean bridge attack. Their injured daughter, with moderately severe wounds, is presently under hospital care.

This marks the second attack on the bridge, an endeavour closely linked to President Putin, since the onset of the Kremlin’s offensive against Ukraine 18 months ago.