Ukraine latest news: Russia suspends grain export deal – and blames UK navy for Nord Stream pipeline blasts | World News

Attacks on ships in Crimea overnight have caused Russia to suspend participation in a grain export deal, TASS has cited Moscow’s defence ministry as saying. 

The UN-brokered deal was signed in July and was allowing shipments of Ukrainian grain to be exported from blockaded ports. 

“Taking into account… the terrorist act by the Kyiv regime with the participation of British experts against the ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian vessels involved in ensuring the security of the “grain corridor”, the Russian side suspends participation in the implementation of agreements on the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports,” the ministry said in a statement.

It earlier said the drone attacks were mostly repelled, although a ship received minor damage. 

Social media videos purport to show fires and black smoke in the Bay of Sevastopol.

A UN spokesperson has said they are in touch with Russian authorities and that all sides should refrain from doing anything to imperil the deal. 

In the last few minutes, Russia’s agriculture minister Dmitry Patrushev said only 3% of the food exported under the UN-brokered deal had gone to the poorest countries – and that Moscow intends to supply 500,000 tonnes of grain to these nations over the next few months.

On Wednesday, UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said he was “relatively optimistic” the deal would be extended beyond mid-November.