A British government communiqué noted that Russian strikes since July have damaged or destroyed at least 26 civilian port infrastructure facilities, warehouses, silos, and elevators, reducing Ukraine’s export capacity by about a third. This amount of grain would be enough to meet the needs of about one million people for a year.
Britain’s intelligence agency said alternative grain export routes are unlikely to match the Black Sea route.
“Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative led to a reduction in Ukrainian exports, which is an obvious effort aimed at degrading the Ukrainian economy and its ability to support military efforts,” the intelligence officers noted.
At the same time, Britain carried out observation and reconnaissance flights in the Black Sea with the aim of “deterring Russia from illegal strikes on civilian ships transporting grain”.
Due to this, Britain is preparing to hold a summit on November 20 of countries that suffer from high product prices due to the war unleashed by Russia.