Russia accuses Ukraine of maritime terrorism while spurning peace overture

Russia's Foreign Ministry has emphatically rejected the idea of a maritime ceasefire with Ukraine in the Black Sea, with spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissing any such arrangement as a "half-measure" that would merely afford Ukrainian forces a "temporary breathing space" and do nothing to address the underlying causes of the conflict. The statement came in response to remarks by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who had indicated that Ankara had put forward proposals to both sides for a moratorium on military operations in the Black Sea, though Ms Zakharova insisted that Moscow had received no formal proposition from Turkey, even as Reuters reported that Kyiv had passed an offer to Russia through a third party to halt attacks on civilian shipping. The rejection reflects the escalating maritime dimension of the war, with both Russia and Ukraine having intensified strikes against commercial vessels in recent weeks, a development that has driven world grain prices higher and revived fears of a global food crisis.

Ms Zakharova, in her statement, accused Ukraine of "brazen acts of terrorism" against shipping while making no mention of Russia's own attacks, which have included strikes on Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure, and she charged that Kyiv's actions were part of a deliberate policy to destabilise civilian shipping, escalate tensions and prolong the conflict with the "blatant acquiescence of regional neighbours." The spokeswoman further ruled out a return to the 2022-23 Black Sea Grain initiative, the landmark agreement brokered by Turkey and the United Nations that had allowed both Russia and Ukraine—two of the world's major grain exporters—to safely ship grain through the Black Sea, a deal that Moscow abandoned in 2023, claiming that Western commitments regarding its own agricultural and fertiliser exports had never been fulfilled. Describing the accord as "one-sided," Ms Zakharova said there were "no signs of improvement in the situation" that would warrant a resurrection of the arrangement, and she reiterated that Russia saw no basis for any partial measures that would grant Kyiv what she termed "breathing space." The rejection comes as global markets remain on edge, with the intensified attacks on shipping threatening to compound supply chain disruptions and exacerbate food price inflation, and with diplomatic efforts to find a pathway to de-escalation appearing increasingly futile in the face of Moscow's intransigence.