Ukraine Latest: Biden Calls Russian Grain Blockade ‘Outrageous’

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(Bloomberg) --

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President Joe Biden denounced Russia’s announcement that it was pulling out of a UN-brokered deal to allow the export of grain from Ukraine as “purely outrageous” and said it would “increase starvation.” The EU and UK also condemned the decision.

Russia suspended the agreement that allow exports from Black Sea ports after drone strikes against its naval vessels, a move that threatens to exacerbate the global food crisis. Air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine after the announcement.

Russia’s central bank cited the inflationary impact of the Kremlin’s recent call-up of reservists to fight against Ukraine in pausing its run of six consecutive interest rate cuts. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin that Russia’s call-up of 300,000 reservists is complete.

(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)

Key Developments

  • ‘Terrifying’ Putin Driven by ‘Evil Forces,’ ECB’s Lagarde Says

  • Russia Pulls Out of Black Sea Grain Safe-Transit Deal After Drone Strikes

  • Putin Stirs EU Worry on Home Appliance Imports Stripped for Arms

  • Russian Air Travel is Back, But Aircraft Lack Service, Parts

  • UK Bans Russian LNG Even Though Imports Have Already Stopped

On the Ground

An industrial building in Zaporizhzhia was struck by Russia on Saturday, the region’s governor said. No casualties were reported. Ukrainian troops repelled Russian attacks in the Donetsk region around Vodyane, Kamianka and Nevelske over the past day, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces. Russia also continued to attempt offensive actions in the directions of Bakhmut and Avdiivka. Two Russian Su-25 attack aircraft, one Mi-8 helicopter and a drone were shot down by air defense units. Russian occupation forces continued an evacuation from the southern Kherson region, and are removing equipment and medicines from local hospitals, according to the General Staff report.

(All times CET)

Biden Calls Russian Grain Blockade ‘Outrageous’ (10:54 p.m.)

President Joe Biden denounced Russia’s announcement that it was suspending participation in a UN-brokered deal to allow the export of grain from Ukraine as “purely outrageous.”

“It’s going to increase starvation,” Biden said Saturday after casting his midterm election ballot early in Wilmington, Delaware. “There’s no reason for them to do that. But they’re always looking for some rationale to be able to say the reason they’re doing something outrageous is because the West made them do it. And there’s just no merit to what they’re doing.”

Russia has said it is suspending the deal because of drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea Fleet.

Russia Deliberately Worsens Food Crisis, Zelenskiy Says (9:51 p.m.)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it was “predictable” that Russia would suspend the deal to ease Ukrainian grain exports, saying 170 ships are already held up for Russian inspection.

“More than 2 million tons of food are in the sea,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly address. “Algeria, Egypt, Yemen, Bangladesh, Vietnam, others could all be destabilized by this Russian decision to block exports.”

Zelenskiy urged a strong international reaction to Russia’s decision, including from the UN and G-20. “How can Russia be in the G-20, if it is deliberately working for hunger on several continents?” he said. “This is nonsense.”

EU, UK Condemn Russia Grain Block (8:59 p.m.)

The EU condemned Russia’s announcement it would suspend exports of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports. The export program is “a critical humanitarian effort that is clearly having a positive impact on access to food for millions of people around the world,” EU spokesperson Nabila Massrali said.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly tweeted that the deal with Russia to export grain is “instrumental to global food security.”

Putin Stirs EU Worry on Home Appliance Imports Stripped for Arms (5:30 p.m.)

A spike in European exports of washing machines, refrigerators and even electric breast pumps to Russia’s neighbors is raising concerns that the trade boom may be helping Vladimir Putin’s war machine in Ukraine.

Read more: Putin Stirs EU Worry on Home Appliance Imports Stripped for Arms

Russia Pulls Out of Grain Deal After Drone Attack (5 p.m.)

Russia’s defense ministry said it’s halting involvement in a deal allowing the safe transit of exports of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports following drone strikes against its naval vessels.

The foreign ministry called the suspension “indefinite,” and said its representatives at the coordination center in Istanbul had been sent relevant instructions.

More than 9 million tons of grain and other foodstuffs have been shipped under the deal since August. Ukraine’s Grain Association has said exports could reach 50 million tons if shipments are allowed to proceed.

UK Denies Accusation It Helped With Crimea Drone Attack (3:30 p.m.)

The UK defense ministry said Russia’s suggestion that its specialist forces helped Ukraine stage a drone attack on Crimea -- and separately, that it was involved in September’s Nord Stream pipeline undersea explosions -- was “peddling false claims on an epic scale.”

Ukraine hasn’t commented on what Moscow called a “massive” attack by nine drones on its Black Sea fleet. Unconfirmed reports on social media suggested damage was wider than the “minor” impact on a single mine-sweeper announced by Russia, including a possible hit on the frigate Admiral Markov.

New Prisoner Exchange Taking Place, Officials Say (1:50 p.m.)

Russia and Ukraine exchanged about 50 prisoners each on Saturday, Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-backed head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, said on Telegram, without giving further details.

It was the second exchange in four days after Ukraine reported Wednesday that 10 of its servicemen were released. Last week, 108 women returned to Ukraine in a prisoner swap.

Presidential aide Andriy Yermak said 52 Ukrainian prisoners, including officers, medics, sergeants and soldiers, were freed. The swap included two civilians, he said. Some of the prisoners were captured from Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.

Russian Ship Damaged in Crimea Drone Attack, Ministry Says, Blaming UK (1 p.m.)

Russia’s Defense Ministry said a Navy minesweeper, the Ivan Golubets, received “minor” damage during an attack involving nine airborne drones and seven unmanned marine vessels against its Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea.

The ministry said ships targeted were involved in ensuring security for the grain corridor allowing safe transit of agricultural goods from Ukrainian ports. It also accused “British specialists” of helping Ukraine’s military carry out the attack, without offering evidence.

The Moscow-appointed governor in Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said the drone assault on the city, home to a major Russian naval base, was the largest since the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine began in February. Nobody was hurt, the news service said.

Kyiv Mayor Makes Urgent Plea for Winter Aid (9:30 a.m.)

“Send blankets and generators or we’ll freeze to death,” Vitali Klitschko, mayor of Kyiv and a former world heavyweight boxing champion, told the UK’s Telegraph.

The capital, like other parts of the country, is facing regular blackouts after widespread Russian strikes on the energy grid this month seen as a bid to break Ukrainian resolve heading into winter. About 40% of the nation’s energy infrastructure has been damaged by missile and drone attacks.

“We are doing everything we can do to save the lives of our people and to protect them,” Klitschko said in an interview on Friday. “But this winter will definitely be a huge challenge for us.”

Ukrainian Commander Thanks US Chief for Aid (9:13 a.m.)

Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, spoke by phone with General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, he said on Telegram.

Kyiv’s forces “are concentrating their efforts on liberating of Ukrainian territory and preventing the capture of new areas,” Zaluzhnyi said. “Thanks to the courage and professionalism of Ukrainian soldiers and officers, our positions remain unchanged.”

Germany Threatens to End Swiss Arms Purchases in Dispute Over Ammo (8:10 a.m.)

Germany is pressing on with a request for approval from Switzerland to allow a blocked supply of ammunition to Ukraine. The bullets were manufactured in Switzerland decades ago, and require a permit for re-export.

Switzerland’s Federal Council refused the request in June, citing the nation’s law of neutrality. Now German members of the Bundestag are openly threatening not to buy any more armaments in Switzerland if it doesn’t allow the deliveries.

Ukraine and Germany justify the renewed call for help with the fact that the ammunition is primarily used to secure grain exports from the port city of Odesa, turning it into a humanitarian action. Switzerland has yet to respond to this new argument.

Potemkin Remains Theft From Kherson ‘Symbolic,’ UK Says (8 a.m.)

Russia’s removal of the remains of Prince Grigory Potemkin from a tomb in Kherson’s cathedral is “symbolic,” the UK defense ministry said, and along with the civilian exodus from the region “likely preempts Russian intent to expedite withdrawal from the area.”

“In the Russian national identity, Potemkin is heavily associated with the Russian conquest of Ukrainian lands in the 18th century, and highlights the weight Putin almost certainly places on perceived historical justification for the invasion,” the ministry said in a Twitter update.

Potemkin’s remains were held in a crypt in the cathedral, including a small bag containing his “skull and bones, carefully numbered,” the New York Times reported.

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