Russia has accused Ukraine of an attack on an ammonia pipeline and threatened to end the grain deal between the two countries because of it.
"On June 5 at 9 pm [1800 GMT], in the village of Masyutivka in Kharkiv region, a Ukrainian reconnaissance and sabotage team blew up the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline," Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Wednesday. The Russian Foreign Ministry described the blast as a "blow against the grain deal."
Internationally, there are concerns that food prices will rise with the failure of the deal.
Ammonia is a toxic gas that is processed into fertilizer. Russia is one of the largest producers and exporters of ammonia. A pipeline from Togliatti on the Volga to the southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa, which was built in Soviet times, was shut down after the full-scale Russian war against Ukraine began.
Russia has repeatedly pressed in recent months to make the reopening of the pipeline part of the agreement that allows the export of grain from Ukraine.
"The Kiev regime has not only simply physically removed the possibility for ammonia deliveries, the strike has also been carried out against joint efforts to help suffering countries and fight famine," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova complained in Moscow.
The efforts of UN Secretary General António Guterres, who wanted to integrate ammonia supplies into the grain deal, had also been sabotaged, she said, adding that all in all, the agreement has been devalued.
The grain agreement concluded last summer ended a months-long Russian naval blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports. As a result, Ukraine, one of the world's most important grain exporters, can once again export grain - albeit on a limited scale.
The agreement has been extended several times, most recently by two months in mid-May. Russia complains, however, that promises of facilitating Russian agricultural exports in this context have not been kept.
