Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky continued diplomatic efforts on Saturday to reopen the Black Sea to Ukraine’s grain shipments, strategizing with NATO chiefs a day after he discussed with Turkey’s president the collapse of a deal that allowed ships to bypass the Russian blockade.
Moscow pulled out of the year-long deal, a rare deal between Russia and Ukraine brokered by Turkey and the United Nations. Efforts to revive it have been thrown into doubt as Russia has struck Ukrainian ports, grain stores and other infrastructure and vowed to consider commercial ships in the Black Sea potentially carrying military supplies.
“Because of Russia’s actions, the world is once again on the brink of a food crisis,” Mr. Zelensky wrote on Twitter Late Friday. “A total of 400 million people suffer from hunger in many countries in Africa and Asia. Together, we must avoid a global food crisis.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been the main mediator between Russia and Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began last February, according to Russian President Vladimir V. Keep friendly relations with Putin and stay out of his NATO allies. Mr Erdogan is expected to meet Mr Putin next month.
Mr. Mr. Zelensky Erdogan has discussed peace prospects with them and asked for help in returning prisoners of war, particularly the Crimean Tatar ethnic minority.
During the meeting, “President Erdogan said that Turkey has made intensive efforts to ensure that peace prevails,” the Turkish President’s Office said. He said on TwitterHe added that Friday’s call was at Kyiv’s request.
On Saturday, Mr. Zelensky said He and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg discussed the “priority and future actions necessary for the non-interruption and sustainable operation of the Black Sea Grain Corridor”.
Russia has said it would renew the deal, but that is unlikely only if other nations lift sanctions imposed in response to Ukraine’s aggression. Moscow says the deal is unfair to Russia and forces its producers to sell grain and other agricultural products below market prices.
Friday, Mr. Erdogan told reporters that Russia wants the grain corridor to remain, “but there are certain expectations from Western countries, and they have to take action.” He said he would discuss it with Mr Putin on the phone when they meet next month.
Moscow’s decision to end the deal came just days after the Turkish leader held a warm meeting with President Biden, who said Ukraine “undoubtedly deserves NATO membership.” The move complicates relations with Mr Putin, who has partly blamed NATO expansion for the decision to invade Ukraine, and raises questions about the possibility of reviving the pact.
Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on Friday, Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken accused Russia of “weaponizing food supplies” and said it would be “very difficult” for Ukraine to resume shipments of grain and other food products.
Tensions in the region have risen since Monday’s attack on the Kerch Strait bridge linking Russia to the occupied Crimean peninsula killed two civilians. Crimea was a key staging ground when Mr Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and remains a key logistics hub for his war. Kyiv has carried out more daring attacks on the peninsula, although it has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the bridge attack.
On Saturday, a drone attack on a munitions depot on the peninsula prompted authorities to evacuate a three-mile radius and briefly halt some transportation, the Moscow-based regional governor said Saturday.
The governor, Sergei Aksyonov, reported no damage or casualties. A video shared by Russian state media showed thick smoke. Footage could not be immediately verified. Ukraine confirmed the military strike, which it said destroyed an oil depot and warehouses.
In a video address to the Aspen Security Forum, an annual national security conference, Mr. Zelensky said on Friday that the Kerch Strait bridge was a legitimate target for Ukraine and should be destroyed.
“The goal is to return the whole of Crimea, because it is our sovereign territory,” he said. “Kerch Bridge is not some small logistical road. It was used to deliver ammunition and militarize the Crimean Peninsula.
Mr. Zelensky agreed because the operation started late.
“We had plans to launch it in the spring, but we didn’t, because, frankly, we didn’t have enough ammunition and weapons and not enough properly trained brigades. I mean, properly trained in these weapons,” said Mr. Zelensky.
The late start, he said, “gave Russia time to mine all our land and build several defense lines.”
Russia has had months to prepare for a counterattack, and the front is littered with mines, tank traps and dug-in troops, while Russian reconnaissance drones and attack helicopters fly overhead with increasing frequency.
On the front line in southern Ukraine, cluster munitions were used in an artillery attack on Saturday that killed Rostislav Zhuravlev, a reporter for the RIA Novosti state news agency, and wounded three other journalists, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The report could not be independently verified. Ukrainian officials did not immediately respond.
Many countries have treaty-banned cluster munitions, which scatter small bombs over a wide area, but both Russia and Ukraine have used them for much of the war. Washington recently began giving Ukraine a stockpile of American-made cluster munitions, which US officials say it has begun using against Russian defenses, Russian state media have highlighted.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, posted on Telegram early Saturday morning that Ukraine had fired several cluster munitions and a self-destructing drone at a village near the Ukrainian border. He said there was no loss of life or damage. His report could not be independently verified. Ukraine has denied using cluster munitions on civilian targets.
A German news outlet, Deutsche Welle’s cameraman was hit and injured after Russia fired cluster munitions at a training camp near Druzkivka in the Donbass region, a Deutsche Welle news release said. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and several others were seriously injured in the attack. Cameraman Evgen Shylko is in a stable condition after being treated at a Ukrainian hospital.
Eric Smith Aspen, Colo. Gaya Gupta contributed reporting from New York.