Key facts
- A civilian vessel owned by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom sank in the Black Sea after being hit by two Ukrainian drones.
- All 17 crew members of the Russian vessel survived the attack.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed the strike on the Russian container ship Yanina.
- Russia's grain lobby warns that Ukrainian attacks on Black Sea shipping could halt exports and threaten global food security.
- An estimated 30-35 million metric tons shortfall in Russian wheat supply could affect 15% of global wheat trade.
Russia's primary grain lobby group has warned that ongoing Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Russian vessels and ports in the Black Sea could lead to a complete shutdown of grain exports through the region. The Union of Grain Exporters and Producers stated that these systematic attacks pose a direct threat to global food security, potentially leading to widespread hunger in Africa and the Middle East. The lobby group estimated that the shortfall in Russian wheat supply for the current season could range between 30 to 35 million metric tons, representing approximately 15% of the total global wheat trade, and emphasized that alternative exporting countries would be unable to compensate for this deficit. In a separate development, two Ukrainian drones hit and sank a civilian vessel owned by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom sailing in the Black Sea overnight. Rosatom's head, Alexei Likhachev, stated that all 17 crew members survived the attack and described the incident as "piracy and maritime robbery." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed the strike on the Russian container ship Yanina, noting its capacity of over 100,000 tons. Both Russia and Ukraine have escalated attacks on ships they claim are aiding the opposing side's war effort.