Members only has accused Ukraine of being liable for an explosion on an important ammonia pipeline, stating that it may negatively impression the renewal of a significant grain export agreement. The Togliatti-Odesa pipeline was broken in a blast on Monday, which Moscow attributes to Ukrainian “sabotage” teams. The Kremlin has declared that it’ll not renew final year’s grain export cope with Kyiv unless the pipeline is practical.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, nevertheless, has denied these allegations, suggesting that the explosion was more likely a results of Russian shelling. Before the war, the 2,500-kilometre pipeline, operating from the Russian city of Togliatti to a few Black Sea ports in southern and western Ukraine, exported 2.5 million tonnes of ammonia annually. The pipeline ceased operations following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In talks to safe grain exports from Ukraine final year, Kyiv and Moscow agreed on the secure passage of ammonia via the pipeline, an important element in fertiliser manufacturing. The important deal, mediated by the UN and Turkey, was initially agreed upon in June 2022 for a hundred and twenty days and has been prolonged 3 times since. The present settlement is about to run out on 17 July.
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the blast might solely have a negative impression on the renewal of the deal, including that the state of affairs is sophisticated. Russian overseas ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova acknowledged that it might take between one and three months to restore the harm to the pipeline. However, Industry and Trade minister Denis Manturov said that Moscow has no access to the damaged section.
Ukraine has firmly denied any involvement within the explosion, insisting that Russia orchestrated the attack. President Zelensky highlighted the difference between the pipeline explosion and the blast at the Khakovka dam, calling the latter an act of terrorism.
In different news, Russian pro-war bloggers have speculated that a long-awaited Ukrainian counteroffensive has begun within the southern region of Zaporizhzhia. Andrey Rudenko, a correspondent for Russian state tv channel Rossiya 24, claimed that Ukrainian tanks had launched attacks on Russian traces within the area, which were subsequently repelled. Russian-installed governor of occupied Zaporizhzhia, Vladimir Rogov, additionally believed that there had been an attempted full-scale offensive in the area..