Ukraine-NATO Council meets following Russian strikes and Russia's withdrawal from Black Sea Grain Initiative

The Ukraine-NATO Council held its second meeting on 26 July, condemning Russia’s unilateral withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its recent missile strikes on Odesa, Mykolaiv and other Ukrainian port cities, including the Danube port of Reni.

Source: NATO statement

Quote: "Allies and Ukraine strongly condemned Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea grain deal and its deliberate attempts to stop Ukraine’s agricultural exports on which hundreds of millions of people worldwide depend. They also condemned Russia’s recent missile attacks on Odesa, Mykolaiv, and other port cities, including Moscow’s cynical drone attack on the Ukrainian grain storage facility in the Danube port city of Reni, very close to the Romanian border."

Details: Allies also noted that Russia’s new warning area in the Black Sea, within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, "has created new risks for miscalculation and escalation, as well as serious impediments to freedom of navigation".

Allies welcomed Türkiye’s continued efforts to revitalise the grain deal and the efforts of Bulgaria, Romania and other Allies "to enable the continued export of Ukrainian grain by land and sea".

NATO and Allies confirmed that they will step up surveillance and reconnaissance in the Black Sea region, including with maritime patrol aircraft and drones. 

Background:

• NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg agreed to convene a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council at the request of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its attacks on Ukrainian ports, which had blocked Ukrainian sea exports.
• The US State Department said that Russia may be preparing a false-flag operation in the Black Sea amid a series of attacks on port infrastructure in the south of Ukraine. James Cleverly, UK Secretary for Foreign Affairs, said he was concerned about the possibility of Russia attacking civilian vessels in the Black Sea and hindering the export of Ukrainian grain.

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