Russia has agreed to extend the agreement on further exports of Ukrainian grain via three Black Sea ports – but only for another 60 days. This emerges from a statement by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Verbinin, which was published on Monday evening on the website of the Russian Embassy in Geneva. There, representatives of Russia had negotiated with the United Nations (UN).

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address Monday that his government was looking for ways to support agriculture in the second year of the war. Ukraine was one of the most important grain suppliers in the world before the war.

Russia: Bank payments must be facilitated

The grain agreement of July 2022 was also associated with a promise by the UN to work to facilitate Russian exports, especially fertilizers. Because of Western sanctions, however, this remains difficult. According to Verschinin, the approval of a further extension makes Moscow dependent on progress in these export transactions. Among other things, bank payments, transport logistics and insurance would have to be facilitated. Moscow is also insisting on the reopening of the Russian ammonia pipeline that runs through Ukraine. Since the Russian attack on the neighboring country in February 2022, it is no longer in operation.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative agreement, brokered by the UN and Turkey, was initially valid for 120 days and was extended once by 120 days. It would have expired at the weekend. The initiative has brought a good 23 million tonnes of grain to the world market and also to the poorest countries. Russia had initially blocked grain exports via the Ukrainian Black Sea ports in February 2022, later the agreement was reached.

Zelenskyi said that this was already the second sowing in wartime. "Last year, thanks to the heroic efforts of our farmers and all workers in the agricultural sector, it was possible to preserve agricultural production and Ukraine's global role as a guarantor of food security."

According to Zelenskyi, Ukrainian agriculture also suffers from another war-related problem. "To date, more than 170,000 square kilometers of our territory are endangered by enemy mines and unexploded ordnance," Zelensky said. "A large part of this area is the land of our farmers."

The Ukrainian government discussed possible measures to accelerate mine clearance at its meeting on Monday, Zelenskyi said. Among other things, cooperation with foreign partners is to be strengthened. Germany is already contributing financially to mine clearance programmes in Ukraine and militarily by supplying mine-clearing tanks.

Kiev: Battle for Bakhmut is also carried out in social media

The onslaught of Russian troops on the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut has been accompanied by a struggle for sovereignty over the interpretation of the battle. According to information from Kiev, this has long been carried out in the social media: The Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communication announced on Monday that Russia spread ads on Facebook via anonymous channels about alleged successes of Russian troops. Among other things, it is claimed that the battle for Bakhmut is "lost from the Ukrainian point of view" and "the West does not believe in Ukraine." It is also spread that the US is reducing its arms deliveries because "Ukrainian authorities have been caught stealing".

"The occupiers want to undermine Ukrainian society's trust in the government by claiming that the battle for Bakhmut is lost and that our allies have left us to fend for ourselves," the communications authority wrote. After all, exactly the opposite is the case. However, during war, both the accounts of the Russian and Ukrainian sides often cannot be independently verified.

Users of social media in Ukraine were advised by the authority on ways to recognize such false claims. "Fake news is spread through newly created pages that have no description and no content and usually have neutral names," it says, among other things. The agency attached several examples of such hoaxes to the warning.

Russian troops continue to charge against the Ukrainian defenses in Bakhmut. The General Staff in Kiev reported on Monday of heavy fighting in some suburbs. The front lines remained unchanged.