According to Russian state-owned media, Ukraine, Turkey, and the United Nations will continue to send grain shipments and coordinate military operations from the grain corridor despite Russia’s withdrawal from the deal yesterday.
“The delegations of Ukraine, Turkey and the UN agreed on a plan for the movement of 14 vessels along the maritime humanitarian corridor for tomorrow, October 31 – 12 coming from Ukraine and two arriving. The UN delegation <…> informed the delegation of the Russian Federation about the movements in accordance with the established procedures of the SKC”, said the Black Sea Grain Corridor Joint Coordination Center in a statement today.
This means that civilian ships will still traverse the corridor despite veiled threats from the Russian Ministry of Defense. If Black Sea Fleet vessels were to engage civilian vessels, the United Nations would be prompted to respond at least verbally since the ships are protected by the Joint Coordination Center. This does not mean that a military intervention would come from the UN or Turkey, but does raise the political temperature even further in the Black Sea. The Russian Federation has just responded saying they are not bound by the decision of Kyiv and Ankara.
The statement also noted that six vessels left Ukrainian ports today and thus far have not been hindered by Ukrainian or Russian fires. Istanbul also noted that Russian inspectors are still on site at the port inspection facilities, possibly signaling Russia will still fulfill its inspection mandate. The Russian Federation announced yesterday it would cease ensuring the protection of civilian vessels in the Black Sea due to a Ukrainian drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet. Two vessels were damaged in the strike.
