Russia today accused Britain of using the Black Sea grain corridor to ship weapons to Ukraine and rejected London's claims that Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports had disrupted critical supplies of grain for other countries, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week that increased Russian attacks on Ukrainian Black Sea ports were delaying critical aid to the Palestinians and halting vital grain supplies to the Global South.
The UN said last week that since September 1, Russian attacks on Ukrainian Black Sea ports had damaged six civilian vessels as well as grain infrastructure, and called the increase in strikes "disturbing".
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said today that Starmer's claims that Moscow is damaging world food security with its strikes are far from the truth.
"This baseless but loud indignation on the part of London once again confirms the exact opposite – Britain's direct involvement in the delivery of weapons to the Kiev regime through the Black Sea sea corridor," she told journalists.
Zakharova pointed to a video recently published by the Russian Ministry of Defense from the port city of Yuzhne in the Odesa region, in which, according to her, one can see arms deliveries.
Reuters noted that it could not verify the credibility of its claims through independent sources and that there was no immediate comment from London.
Ukraine is one of the world's major producers of wheat and corn and was exporting about six million tons of grain a month via the Black Sea before Russia sent troops into the country in 2022.
Ukraine established a Black Sea supply corridor after a UN-backed initiative to export grain through the Black Sea, which involved Russia and ensured the safe passage of grain cargo ships, collapsed last year.