INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia on Saturday suspended its participation in a landmark agreement that allowed vital grain exports from Ukraine, blaming drone attacks
on Russian ships in Crimea.Russia made the announcement after its army accused Kyiv earlier Saturday of a "massive" drone attack on its
Black Sea fleet, which Ukraine labeled a "false pretext" and the UN urged the deal's preservation.The Turkey and UN-brokered deal to unlock
grain exports signed between Russia and Ukraine in July is critical to easing the global food crisis caused by the conflict.The agreement
already allowed more than 9 million tons of Ukrainian grain to be exported and was due to be renewed on Nov
19.A Turkish security source told AFP that Ankara had not been "officially notified" of Russia's suspension, while Ukraine and the UN pushed
for the agreement to remain in force."I call on all states to demand that Russia stop its hunger games and recommit to fulfilling its
is vital that all parties refrain from any action that would imperil the Black Sea Grain Initiative which is a critical humanitarian
effort."'Peddling false claims'Sevastopol in Moscow-annexed Crimea has been targeted several times in recent months and serves as the
headquarters for the Black Sea fleet and a logistical hub for operations in Ukraine.The Russian army claimed to have "destroyed" nine aerial
the participation of British experts against ships of the Black Sea fleet and civilian vessels involved in the security of grain corridors,
Russia suspends its participation in the implementation of the agreement on the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports," the
Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram.Moscow's forces alleged British "specialists," whom they said were based in the southern Ukrainian
Nord Stream gas pipelines last month.Britain strongly rebutted both claims, saying "the Russian Ministry of Defense is resorting to peddling
false claims of an epic scale."Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Saturday that Moscow would raise the blasts and
the alleged drone attack at the UN Security Council.The British defense ministry said this "invented story says more about arguments going
on inside the Russian Government than it does about the West."Moscow's military said ships targeted at their Crimean base were involved in
harbor was "temporarily" closed to boats and ferries and urged people "not to panic."Attacks on Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, have
Bakhmut -- the only area where Moscow's forces have advanced in recent weeks
