Two people from Russia’s Belgorod region, a mother and father, were killed in an “emergency” on the Crimean Kerch Bridge on Monday, and their daughter was injured, the region’s governor announced via Telegram.
“This morning, we heard about the emergency that happened on the Crimean bridge. We all saw a video on the internet of a damaged car with Belgorod number plates,” Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote.
“The girl was injured, moderately injured … The hardest thing is that both her parents died.”
The blasts on the 12-mile Kerch bridge, a major supply artery for Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, left twisted metal barriers, debris and the damaged car.
It is the second major incident on the bridge in the past year. In October 2022, the bridge was partially closed following an explosion. It was fully reopened in February.
Moscow blames Ukraine for the attack, while in Kyiv, they are talking about Russian provocation.
The Bridge partially reopened to traffic Tuesday.
In other news, Russia has withdrawn from a deal that exports millions of tons of grain worldwide, in a move that could potentially jeopardize world food supplies.
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said that he “deeply regrets” Russia’s decision to exit the Black Sea grain deal.
Speaking from UN offices in New York, he said: “Today’s decision by the Russian Federation will strike a blow to people in need everywhere.
“Hundreds of millions of people face hunger and consumers are confronting a global cost-of-living crisis. They will pay the price.”
He said that the pausing of the deal means a related pact between Moscow and the UN to help facilitate Russia’s fertilizer and grain exports was also terminated. “Our main focus will be advancing global food security and global food price stability,” he said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that Ukraine is prepared to continue grain exports after Russia exited a landmark deal brokered with Turkey and the UN to unblock deliveries from the major producer.
“Even without the Russian Federation, everything must be done so that we can use this Black Sea corridor. We are not afraid. We have been approached by companies that own ships. They said that they are ready to continue shipments,” Zelensky said in comments distributed on social media by his spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov.
President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said he believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin actually wants to extend the so-called “grain deal” and intends to discuss it with him.
According to CNN Turk and Anadolu, Erdogan stated before heading to Saudi Arabia for an official visit, that the Black Sea grain initiative has already entered history as a significant diplomatic success and has allowed the transportation of over 33 million tons of grain, preventing food shortages in many countries.
“Despite the statement today, I believe that Russian President Putin wants this humanitarian bridge to continue,” Erdogan said, adding that he might “take steps via a phone call with Putin without waiting until August” [when the Russian leader is expected to make a personal visit to Türkiye].
Ukraine cargo insurance policy suspended after Russia quits landmark grain deal
A cargo insurance facility providing cover for Ukraine grain shipments via a safe sea corridor has been suspended after Russia quit the United Nations-backed agreement, broker Marsh told Reuters.
Moscow has withdrawn from the year-old grain export deal in a move the United Nations said risked creating hunger around the world.
The marine cargo and war facility provided cover up to $50 million per cargo and was led by Lloyd’s of London insurer Ascot, together with other underwriters.
“It is currently on pause,” said David Roe, head of UK cargo at Marsh, which acted as the facility’s broker.
“It is suspended effectively due to the agreement not being extended.”
“Without the corridor being in place, there is a greater degree of uncertainty attached to the risk.”
Insurance has been vital to ensure shipments through the corridor.
Russian bombing of Ukraine ports threatens those who rely on Ukrainian food exports, official says
Southern Ukraine was the target of Russian airstrikes overnight Tuesday, as port cities Odesa and Mykolaiv came under attack from drones and missiles. Eastern regions Donetsk and Kharkiv were also targeted.
The attacks came a day after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal, a move that upset agricultural markets and saw the price of wheat, corn and other food commodities spike.
Russia’s missile and drone strikes on Ukraine’s grain ports threaten the millions of people around the world who rely on Ukrainian exports for their food, a top Ukrainian official said.
The overnight attacks are “further proof that the country-terrorist wants to endanger the lives of 400 million people in various countries that depend on Ukrainian food exports,” Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential staff, was cited by Reuters as saying.
On Tuesday morning, Moscow said it had carried out a “mass revenge strike” on two port cities in Ukraine after an attack on its Kerch Bridge that it blamed on Kyiv. Russia and Ukraine exported 25% of the world’s grain before the war, and a large proportion of countries that rely on Ukrainian grain exports are in the Middle East and Africa.
Russia’s withdrawal from a landmark UN-brokered grain deal Monday is “a blow to people in need,” the UN said.
South African leader says arresting Putin if he comes to Johannesburg next month would mean ‘war’
South Africa’s president said Tuesday that arresting Russian President Vladimir Putin — should he show up at an economic summit next month in Johannesburg — would amount to a “declaration of war” by his country, according to the Associated Press.
The August summit is bringing together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — a bloc of developing economies known as BRICS. Officials have said that Putin wants to attend the gathering but they have been trying to persuade him to stay away to avoid the legal and diplomatic fallout over his international arrest warrant.
Putin is the subject of a warrant of arrest by the International Criminal Court related to alleged war crimes during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the ICC, South Africa would be obligated to arrest Putin if he visits the African nation.
South Africa’s biggest political opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has tried to compel President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government to pledge to arrest Putin in an action before the High Court in Pretoria.
But in a strongly worded affidavit to the court, made public on Tuesday, Ramaphosa reiterated his past statement that such an action against Putin could also derail any efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
“I must highlight, for the sake of transparency, that South Africa has obvious problems with executing a request to arrest and surrender President Putin,” he said. “Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting president would be a declaration of war.”
“It would be inconsistent with our Constitution to risk engaging in war with Russia,” Ramaphosa added.
Compiled by Ana Dumbadze
