US expresses concern over possible Russian attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea

The White House urges the Russian authorities to resume the grain agreement

July 25 () –

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre has expressed concern about possible attacks by the Russian Army against civilian vessels in the Black Sea following the Russian Defense Ministry’s decision to consider all foreign ships bound for Ukrainian ports as vessels carrying military goods.

This decision came last week after abandoning the grain agreement and, since then, the bombardments against the Ukrainian city of Odessa, from where the ships loaded with grain left, have been constantly subjected to air attacks.

“They have destroyed port infrastructure and hundreds of thousands of tons of grain that could have fed hungry people around the world. What Russia is doing to Odessa has been devastating, and we remain concerned about the possible expansion of Russian military targets towards civilian ships in the Black Sea,” Jean-Pierre said.

“This is something we have already warned about: we believe that Russia can attack civilian targets and then blame Ukraine for these attacks on false flag operations,” the spokeswoman remarked during a press conference.

In addition, it has denounced the attacks against Odessa in which “the use of missiles and drones” have served to “kill and injure Ukrainian civilians, damage churches, residential buildings and sites classified as world heritage sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)”.

On the other hand, he has assured that the Kremlin’s decision not to renew the grain agreement has caused “volatility” in the price of food, which will harm the “most impoverished areas of the world.”

Lastly, it has asked Moscow to cease its attacks against the infrastructure related to the food supply and has requested a return to the grain agreement.