Russia’s navy carried out a live fire exercise in the Black Sea, the defence ministry said Friday, days after the Kremlin declared it would consider ships travelling to Ukraine through the waterway potential military targets.

  • Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukrainian food export facilities and practiced seizing ships in the Black Sea, potentially threatening a global food crisis and increasing concerns about the supply of grain.

  • The attacks on Ukraine’s grain infrastructure came after Kyiv vowed to defy Russia’s naval blockade on its grain export ports, following Moscow’s withdrawal from a UN-brokered safe sea corridor agreement.

  • Western leaders accuse Russia of attempting to loosen sanctions by targeting Ukraine’s food exports, while the United States imposed Russia-related sanctions against nearly 120 people and entities in an effort to constrain Russia’s military capabilities.