In a blow to nations that have supported Ukraine, Russia warned it will limit gas supplies to Europe starting on Wednesday. Meanwhile, missile attacks in Black Sea coastal districts have raised questions about whether Russia will uphold a pact to allow Ukraine to export grain.
Despite a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian port of Odesa over the weekend and a military administration spokesperson claiming another missile hit the Odesa region on Tuesday morning, the United Nations said the first ships from Ukraine may set sail in days as part of a deal reached on Friday.
The largest crisis in Europe since World War Two, now in its sixth month, is having an impact well beyond Ukraine as seen by rising oil prices and the prospect of hunger faced by millions in poorer countries.
In an effort to wean themselves off Russian energy and get ready for a potential total cutoff, European Union countries are expected to approve a weakened emergency proposal on Tuesday to reduce their gas demand.
On Tuesday, the Ukrainian military announced that Russian cruise missiles had struck targets in the south and that Ukrainian forces had also struck back. A missile fired from the direction of the Black Sea struck the area, according to Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the military administration in Odesa, who did not provide any details on casualties.
According to the mayor Oleksandr Senkevich, an attack on the port infrastructure at Mykolaiv along the Black Sea coast east of Odesa destroyed it.
An after-hours request for comment was not immediately answered by the Russian defense ministry.
After Ukrainian troops shelled the region, a large fire broke out at an oil depot in the Budyonnovsky neighborhood of the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine, according to a reporter at the scene, reported Russia’s TASS. There have been no reported fatalities or injuries.
Russian energy company Gazprom announced on Monday that gas supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany would decrease to 33 million cubic meters per day as of Wednesday, citing directives from an industry watchdog.
That is one-half of the existing flows, which are only operating at 40% of capacity normally. About 40% of Europe’s gas and 30% of its oil were imported from Russia before the war.
The Kremlin claims that maintenance issues and Western sanctions are to blame for the gas outage, but the European Union has charged Russia with energy extortion.
Russia could shut off the gas this winter, according to European politicians, which would put Germany into a recession and damage customers already suffering from skyrocketing inflation.
Moscow asserts that it is not keen on the gas supply to Europe being completely cut off.
The Ukrainian national pipeline operator firm reported that Russian gas giant Gazprom abruptly boosted pressure in a pipeline that passes through Ukraine to carry Russian gas to Europe, adding to worries on the energy front.
Pipeline operators are required to notify one another in advance of such pressure surges because they may result in crises such as pipeline ruptures, according to the Ukrainian business. A comment from Gazprom could not be obtained right away.
GRAIN DEAL
Nearly a third of the world’s wheat exports came from Russia and Ukraine before the invasion and the ensuing sanctions.
On Friday, representatives from Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Nations reached an agreement that no attacks would be made on commercial ships traveling across the Black Sea to the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey and then to markets.
Moscow dismissed worries that a Russian attack on Odesa on Saturday may jeopardize the agreement, claiming it only hit military installations.
The White House claimed that the strike raised questions about Russia’s credibility and that it was closely monitoring whether promises would be kept.
In order to enhance Ukraine’s exports via overland routes, it was said that “we will also continue to actively explore additional opportunities with the international community.”
Since Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24, Russia’s Black Sea fleet has prevented grain exports from that country. Moscow accuses Ukraine of mining the entrances to its ports and Western sanctions for slowing down its exports of food and fertilizer.
According to the agreement reached on Friday, captains will direct ships through the naval minefields on safe routes.
A representative of the Ukrainian government expressed his optimism that the first grain cargo from Chornomorsk might be made this week, followed by supplies from other ports in two weeks.
Zelensky insisted that trade would restart, saying, “We will start exporting, and let the partners take care of security.”
On a visit to African nations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that there were no restrictions on grain exports and that the agreement had no provisions that would prevent Moscow from hitting military equipment.
The Kremlin also stated that for the grain deal to be successful, the UN must ensure that restrictions on Russian exports of fertilizer and other goods are eliminated.
THE AIR STRIKE
The Kremlin claims to be carrying out a “special military operation” to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine. Both Kyiv and Western countries claim that a conflict is an act of indiscriminate assault.
During the fighting, millions of citizens fled and thousands died. Cities have been destroyed by Russian airstrikes and artillery barrages.
Although Putin’s forces are moving slowly and the Ukrainians are being helped by Western weapons, it is thought that they are getting ready for a new offensive in the east.
Since obtaining the weapons last month, Ukraine said on Monday, that its forces have destroyed 50 Russian munitions stockpiles using HIMARS rocket launchers supplied by the United States.
Russia made no comments, but according to its Defense Ministry, its forces destroyed a HIMARS system ammo depot.
