Russia accused Britain on Wednesday of using the Black Sea grain canal to deliver weapons to Ukraine after London denied its allegations that Russian attacks against Ukrainian ports disrupted vital grain supplies for other nations.

Last week, British Prime Minister Keir starmer stated that the increase in Russian attacks against Ukraine's Black Sea port delays vital aid to reach the Palestinians. It also prevents crucial grain supplies being delivered to the Global South.

Last week, the United Nations reported that Russian attacks against Ukrainian Black Sea ports have damaged six civilian ships as well as grain infrastructures since September 1, calling this "distressing".

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that Starmer’s claims that Moscow is damaging global food safety with such strikes are far from true.

She told a news conference that "such baseless and thunderous outrage" from London confirms the exact opposite: that the UK is directly involved in providing arms to the Kiev regime via the Black Sea Sea Corridor.

Zakharova mentioned what she called recent video evidence regarding the port of Yuzhny in Ukraine's Odesa Region, and purported weapons supplies published by Russia’s Ministry of Defence.

London did not respond to her immediately and could not independently confirm the claims she made.

Ukraine was a major wheat and corn producer in the world and exported six million tons per month of grain via the Black Sea, before Russia sent troops into Ukraine.

After the failure of the U.N.-backed Black Sea Grain Export Initiative, which included Russia and ensured safe passage for grain ships last year, Ukraine established a shipping route in the Black Sea. (Reporting and writing by Dmitry Antonov, Editing by Andrew Osborn & Alex Richardson; Anastasia Teterevleva)

(source: Reuters)