James Cleverly warns Russia may target civilian ships in Black Sea

Britain’s Foreign Secretary makes claim on Middle East tour after Moscow pulled out of grain deal

The UK believes Russia may escalate its drive to destroy Ukraine’s food exports by targeting ships in the Black Sea. AP

Civilian ships may be the next target of Russia’s “unconscionable behaviour”, Britain’s Foreign Secretary has warned after the collapse of the Ukraine grain deal.

James Cleverly said the UK would draw attention to Moscow’s actions at the UN Security Council, following drone strikes on grain warehouses at strategic Ukrainian ports.

The collapse of the Black Sea agreement, brokered by the UN and Turkey last year, has given rise to fears that millions of people in developing countries could face hunger as a result.

Mr Cleverly, who is on a three-day tour of the Middle East, accused the Kremlin of holding essential foods hostage.

“The UK believes that Russia may escalate its campaign to destroy Ukraine’s food exports by targeting civilian ships in the Black Sea,” Mr Cleverly wrote on Twitter.

“We will highlight this unconscionable behaviour at the UNSC.

“Russia should stop holding global food supplies hostage and return to the deal.”

The Foreign Secretary was due to arrive in Qatar on Tuesday before travelling on to Kuwait and Jordan in the coming days on a trip aimed at bolstering British ties with key regional partners.

Russia’s decision this month to discontinue its participation in the crucial grain deal sparked condemnation from international figures.

Ukraine is one of the world’s major food producers, with wheat, corn and barley making up most of its exports.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the termination of the pact “by the Russian Federation will strike a blow to people in need everywhere”. Speaking on Monday, a week after the deal fell through, Mr Guterres said the consequences were already being felt, with global wheat and corn prices on the rise.

The European Union’s agriculture commissioner signalled on Tuesday that the bloc was ready to move almost all of Ukraine's agriculture goods through "solidarity lanes".

Janusz Wojciechowski expressed hope that grain could reach the outside world if rail and road transport connections through EU counties were used.

"It is not the first time Russia uses food as a weapon ... the situation is similar to the beginning of the war," Mr Wojciechowski told reporters.

"We are ready to export almost everything. This is about four million tonnes per month of oil, seeds and grains and we achieved this volume in November last year.”

While the grain accord was in place, 60 per cent of Ukraine's exports were shipped via solidarity lanes and 40 per cent went via the Black Sea, he said.

On Monday, Russia was accused of launching a four-hour attack on Ukraine’s Danube ports of Reni and Izmail, in which grain depots and other infrastructure was obliterated.

Fifteen Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones were used in the attack which left six people injured, Ukrainian officials said.

'Ukraine will retaliate against Russian terrorists'

On Sunday, a Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s southern port city of Odesa killed two people and injured 20. The Transfiguration Cathedral, an Orthodox place of worship and historic Unesco world heritage site, was severely damaged.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed: “There will definitely be a retaliation against Russian terrorists for Odesa.”

During a phone call on Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Mr Zelenskyy he was “appalled” by Russia’s targeting of the cathedral and that London was working with Ankara to revive the grain deal.

The pair discussed the “continued progress by Ukrainian forces despite the challenging conditions” on the battlefield, a spokeswoman for Mr Sunak’s office said.

“Discussing the Black Sea grain initiative, the leaders agreed on the importance of ensuring grain was able to be exported from Ukraine to reach international markets,” she added.

“The Prime Minister said the UK was working closely with Turkey on restoring the grain deal and we would continue to use our role as chair of the UN Security Council to further condemn Russia's behaviour.”

Mr Cleverly’s warning about Russia’s ambition to strike civilian ships in the Black Sea was echoed by Mr Sunak in the call.

The Prime Minister told Mr Zelenskyy Russia was “increasingly looking to target merchant vessels in the Black Sea area” and assured him the UK and its allies would closely monitor the situation, according to No 10 Downing Street.

Mr Zelenskyy said he and Mr Sunak “spoke about Russia's daily attempts to destroy Odesa's historic centre and port infrastructure”.

“We must defend Odesa,” the Ukrainian leader said, adding that his country needs to strengthen its air defences to protect historical sites. He also issued a call that the grain deal should be brought back to life.

Meanwhile in Russia, the lower house of parliament voted to raise the upper age limit for conscription to 30.

The State Duma’s approval of a bill to move the age limit for compulsory military draft was the latest sign of the Kremlin’s effort to expand the army and came as the invasion of Ukraine approaches the 18-month mark.

Under the existing rules, all Russian men aged 18-27 are obliged to serve in the military for one year, although many avoid the draft by using deferments granted to students, people with chronic illnesses and others.

The bill still needs to be endorsed by the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament, and signed by President Vladimir Putin to become law.