TROUBLED GRAIN DEAL IN UKRAINE

On January 16, a cargo ship traveling from Ukraine to Istanbul ran aground in the Bosphorus. The vessel MKK-1 blocked traffic in the Umuryeri area. A week ago, the MV Glory cargo ship, which was transporting corn from Ukraine to China, ran aground in the Suez Canal, near the city of El-Kantara in northern Egypt. Ukrainian vessels involved in the grain deal often lead to traffic jams in the straits. In its turn, the Ukrainian Administration of Seaports accused Russia of creating a long queue of ships in the Ukrainian grain corridor. According to Ukrainian authorities, the Russian side “slows down inspections of vessels, which is why they have to wait in line a month on average.” The Russian side probably strengthened control measures after the Ukrainian special services used the grain deal to commit a terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge as well as to attack Russian ports in the Black Sea. The Kiev regime continues to use the threat of world hunger in its own interests. On January 15, the Russian Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine warned about another upcoming provocation. The Security Service of Ukraine is engaged in mining a granary in the east of the country in an attempt to accuse Moscow of “provoking hunger” and “disrupting” the grain export deal from Ukrainian ports. The explosion should be staged in the city of Karaichnoye, Kharkiv region. A group of up to 30 SBU officers and mine-blasting specialists headed by Mr Tkachuk has already arrived in Volchansk. The granary in question is owned by an employee of the SBU Mr Uvarov. While the Ukrainian Army is losing on the battlefield, Kiev tries its best to beg more weapons from Western patrons. It is no coincidence that the explosions on granaries should take place on the eve of the meeting of Western defense ministers at the Ramstein base on January 20.