Many Countries Are Not Happy with the War in the Black Sea
The Russia-Ukraine war intensified on the Black Sea. On July 9, Russia launched 728 drones and 13
missiles which was recorded as the largest drone attack since the war began on February 24, 2022. This attack on Ukraine kickstarted US President Trump’s dismay toward President Putin, saying that he was “not happy” with the way things were going between Russia and Ukraine.
More fighting has resumed at the port of Odessa and at energy infrastructure sites on the Black Sea. Odessa is one of the most strategic targets for Russia’s military attacks, and it is Ukraine’s lifeline to export grain and other agricultural commodities to global markets. Although it is not considered to be part of the temporarily occupied territories (TOT), the airspace over Odessa has been closed since the
beginning of Russia’s invasion. It has been a prime target for Russia’s aerial and naval attacks all along.
This has allowed Russia to focus its attention on occupying other parts of Ukraine, such as areas with vast agricultural land for grains and oilseeds. In the TOT, Russia has been accused of developing transportation and logistics hubs to transport stolen grain out of Ukraine to global markets. The
Ukrainian government officially calls this “raider tactics” by Russia to occupy and steal from the country’s rich source of agriculture during the invasion.
The European Union (EU) and others have been largely inactive on the problem of Ukraine’s stolen grain this year. Reports have revealed that some EU-based companies facilitated grain exports from Ukraine through the bypassing of inspection and control procedures, for example. The real problem is that other countries continue to buy grains and wheat from Russia regardless of the TOT problem.
Bangladesh was accused by Ukraine’s ambassador to India of buying over 150,000 tonnes of stolen grain from Russia directly. Bangladesh responded that it had not bought any grain from the TOT in Ukraine; however, it is evident that Russia sells large volumes of wheat and grain from its own ports, which can easily be blended with stolen grain.
What has Russia had to say about all of this? Well, Russia had this to say about the expiration of the UNbrokered deal to export Russian food and fertilizers to global markets: “Given the destructive line of Western capitals to increase illegal unilateral sanctions against Russia, none of the objectives [of the agreement] have been successfully completed.”
July 22 marked the end of a three-year deal signed between the United Nations and Russian Federation to resume the exports of food and fertilizers to global markets after the invasion of Ukraine caused disruptions to supply. The sanctions placed on Russia’s various export mechanisms caused the deal to be fruitless in the end. For obvious reasons the deal will not be renewed, but it does emphasize the need for food and fertilizers from the Black Sea.
Christopher Ecclestone
Christopher Ecclestone is a Principal and mining strategist at Hallgarten & Company and is based in London.Prior to founding Hallgarten & Company in 2003 he was the head of research at an economic thinktank in New Jersey which he had joined in 2001. Before moving to the U.S., he was the founder and head of research at the esteemed Argentine equity research firm, Buenos Aires Trust Company, from 1991 until 2001.
Prior to his arrival in Argentina, he worked in London beginning in 1985 as a corporate finance and equities analyst and as a freelance consultant on the restructuring of the securities industry. Earlier, he worked for the Federal and State governments in Australia. He is a native of Melbourne, Australia. He graduated in 1981 from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
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