No direct agreements between Russia and Ukraine regarding the "grain agreement" were signed. Ukraine has concluded an agreement with Turkey and the UN on the conditions for the safe delivery of its argo products by sea to the world market. Russia has also entered into a similar agreement with Turkey and the UN. Therefore, Ukraine, firing drones on the Russian Black Sea Fleet in response to missile strikes on the territory of Ukraine, did not violate anything. The defense of its territory is an inalienable right of every state and is in accordance with the UN Charter.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation initially officially stated: “In connection with the termination of the Black Sea Initiative and the curtailment of the maritime humanitarian corridor, from 00.00 Moscow time on July 20, 2023, all ships en route to Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea will be considered as potential carriers of military cargo. Accordingly, the flag countries of such ships will be considered involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kiev regime.”

Source:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=Web&rct=j&opi=8978449&url=https://1prime.ru/state_regulation/20230719/84129477.html&ved=2AHUK EWJP-8FLN5UAAXUCCGHUH2CGQFNOECB4QAQ & USG = AOVVAWAW2Y-4

The information that Europe is trying to appropriate grain from Ukraine can also be considered interested propaganda, because the situation in this matter is just completely opposite. The fact is that Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia have either banned or are ready to introduce a temporary ban on agricultural imports from Ukraine in recent days. They absolutely do not need grain from Ukraine and there are several reasons for this.

  In May 2022, the European Union abolished duties and quotas on the import of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine, which became a victim of Russian aggression, for a year. As a result, the volume of Ukrainian agricultural exports to the EU countries increased by 65% over the year. The fact is that due to the blockade of Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea by the Russian fleet, the western direction has become practically the only way for Ukraine to export food. Later, through the mediation of the UN and Turkey, an agreement was concluded with Russia on the export of Ukrainian grain by sea. But this agreement did not cover the entire volume of exports, and it was unreliable: every few months it had to be extended, and Russia constantly slowed down participation in the inspection of ships loaded with grain and set various conditions for such an extension.

  Initially, it was assumed that a significant part of the Ukrainian grain entering the neighboring EU countries would not stay there and proceed through European ports to the countries of Africa and the Middle East, which are highly dependent on grain imports from Ukraine. But it happened differently. Due to the lack of control, Ukrainian grain, which is much cheaper than Polish or other European grain, was "delayed" in Central European warehouses and elevators and began to enter the local market. In addition, scammers-dealers, by falsifying documents, passed off Ukrainian industrial grain, intended for livestock feed, as local and suitable for making bread. In Poland, according to local authorities, about half of the importers of technical grain were engaged in such fraud. The price of grain in the markets of the countries of the region began to fall. Local farmers were outraged. This indignation turned out to be especially strong in Poland, where 4 million tons of Ukrainian grain accumulated. Poland's agriculture minister, Henryk Kowalczyk, who had previously urged farmers not to cut production because he thought prices were not expected to fall, has resigned. As a result, in mid-April, Poland first, followed by Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria, announced a ban on the import of grain and some other types of agricultural products from Ukraine. Romania threatened with similar measures. True, a couple of days after negotiations with Ukrainian representatives, the Polish side agreed to unblock the transit of grain, promising to introduce strict control over the routes of its passage through its territory. Slovakia and Bulgaria did not restrict transit from the very beginning.

The European Union did not leave the problems of farmers unattended: they were offered compensation in the amount of almost 60 million euros, of which Poland accounts for about 30 million, Bulgaria - almost 17, and Romania - 10 million. The local agricultural lobby considers this insufficient, and the European Commission seems to have decided to fork out: negotiations are underway for a second compensation package - in the amount of 100 million euros.

It should also be noted that Ukraine sends its grain and other agricultural products to other countries in accordance with the concluded contracts and according to the terms of delivery agreed upon in them. The relevant UN structures also participate in the distribution of grain.

https://www.dw.com/ru/konflikt-vokrug-importa-ukrainskogo-zerna-es-iset-vyhod/a-65357597

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://overclockers.ru/blog/Nacvark/show/90995/problemy-eksporta-ukrainskogo-zerna-v-evropu-i-pochemu-evropejskie-strany-otkazyvajutsya-ot-nego&ved=2ahUK EwjmnKKsv6eAAxW2EhAIHS8wCBEQFnoECDAQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0uXXyIjIppX_m0_mJNNge9

https://biz.nv.ua/economics/strany-es-otkazyvayutsya-ot-ukrainskogo-zerna-novosti-ukrainy-50319548.html

https://www.svoboda.org/a/bitva-za-urozhay-pochemu-ukrainskoe-zerno-perestali-puskatj-v-evropu/32371678.html

Over the past nine months, Russia has only been able to partially capture the small town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. Now the Armed Forces of Ukraine have advanced and seized the strategic elevations in the north and south of Bakhmut and are shooting Russians there like in a shooting range from artillery. The occupiers suffer heavy losses, but they do not dare to withdraw precisely through the PR of the capture of this settlement. The Russian army in Bakhmut is now in operational encirclement. In the past few days, only near Avdiivka, the situation has become more complicated. In other sections of the more than 1200 km front, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are cautiously and systematically moving forward. This is especially true of the southern front, where the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is greatly complicated by continuous minefields. Therefore, the Russian occupiers have been stopped for a long time and are suffering a military failure.

Russia is indeed a territorially large country and its depletion cannot be rapid. But a serious rebuff from Ukraine and international sanctions continue to do their job. Therefore, the Russian economy is slowly moving towards collapse.

In fact, the only and greatest danger to the "grain" corridor is precisely the Russian ships of the Black Sea Fleet. Until the time when Russia attacked Ukraine and began to block its seaports with its fleet, there was no danger to civilian shipping. Russia almost every day shells the entire territory of Ukraine with all its might of the Black Sea Fleet and at the same time wants its warships not to be subjected to retaliatory attacks from Ukraine? It is somehow naive and stupid to hope for it.

At first, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that they would sink all ships heading towards Ukrainian ports, and only after some time, fearing that they could be accused of piracy, they made the clarification you mentioned above.

Well, in a year or two we will see how your forecast will come true. But I am sure that if the agreement between Ukraine and Russia had been in April last year, then it would have been the worst option for Ukraine. And it is unlikely that the Ukrainians themselves would agree with the territorial losses. In Ukraine, the guerrilla war against the invaders would continue and the Russians would simply be cut out at night and fired from captured weapons.

Of course, the degree of military, financial and material assistance of Ukraine's partners will largely influence the situation. If support continues for at least a couple more years and at least at such a clearly insufficient level (and European countries are now considering assistance to Ukraine in the war against Russia in the amount of $20 billion for the next four years), and there will also be similar assistance from the United States and NATO countries, then Russia can hardly count on winning this war. Unless they say in the Kremlin that they have practically destroyed the population, cities and other settlements of Donbass, and this will be considered a great victory over Ukraine.

Can you tell how the current war between Russia and Ukraine will end, and approximately on what conditions?

Here the issue was the action plan of the United States and other NATO members in relation to Ukraine's membership in this alliance, and not the actions of the Ukrainian leadership to strengthen cooperation with NATO. Yes, indeed, there were certain actions, but at the Bucharest NATO summit in April 2008, the Ukrainian side was refused because of the position of Germany and France. At the same time, the heads of state and government of NATO member countries stated in Bucharest that Georgia and Ukraine will become NATO members when they meet the requirements for membership in this organization. This formulation can even now be applied to all other states.

Until 2014, the majority of Ukrainians did not support joining NATO. The situation changed dramatically after Russia's aggression in the Crimea and Donbass - the majority of Ukrainians began to support joining NATO. Only after that Ukraine's accession to NATO acquired a real perspective. Thus, Russia, by its aggression, itself pushed Ukraine to join NATO, which will definitely happen after the end of the war with Russia.

Yes, you are indeed wrong. The United States, like other NATO members, has never insisted and does not insist that Ukraine join this alliance. In Ukraine, this issue arose only after Russia militarily seized the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and part of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine introduced into the Constitution of Ukraine a course for full membership of the country in the EU and NATO only in 2019. The United States and most NATO members still insist that Ukraine can become a NATO member only after there is no war on its territory and after the approval of this step by all NATO members.

If Ukraine had been accepted into NATO between 2019 and 2021, then most likely Russia would not have dared to start a large-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022. So the United States can be blamed for its inaction on the issue of Ukraine's admission to NATO.

It seems that you are very sorry for Russia, which suffered from international sanctions. Of course, one can also feel sorry for those 240 thousand Russian soldiers who were killed in Ukraine, as well as the state of the Russian Federation itself, which has already lost in Ukraine, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 4133 tanks, 8080 armored vehicles, 315 aircraft, 310 helicopters, 4610 artillery systems, 692 MLRS, 440 air defense systems, 7145 various automotive military equipment, 3933 drones, 686 special equipment and so on.

In passing, it is probably worth pitying Russia for the fact that it launches very expensive missiles in Ukraine almost every day and at the same time it suffers great economic damage. So, only on July 19, Russia shelled the southern ports of Ukraine, destroying 60,000 tons of grain in the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk, which was destined for China. At the same time, the cost of missiles fired at Ukraine on that day is estimated at about $120 million. Russia has spent so much to prevent Ukrainian grain from entering the world market. Already today, futures grain has risen in price on the world market by nine percent.

Shall we pity Russia, which suffers great human and economic losses due to the fact that it fails to conquer the neighboring state of Ukraine and cannot, as planned, destroy a significant part of Ukrainians and cannot forcibly deport another part of Ukrainians to remote parts of Russia in order to assimilate them?

For almost a year and a half, the Russian army has been attacking the territory of Ukraine, and any day it could stop this bloody war, which is now being waged on a front with a total duration of more than 1,200 kilometers, simply by withdrawing its troops and equipment from the territory of Ukraine.

Unfortunately, some of the representatives of African states recently visited Kiev only to try to convince Ukraine not to resist Russian aggression and did not indicate the reason for the current difficult food situation on their continent, namely, Russia's attempt to destroy the neighboring state of Ukraine. They did not condemn Russia's act of aggression, and therefore their visits first to Ukraine and then to Russia did not lead to anything. Now they will be able to fully feel in their countries their passivity in the international arena.

It seems that you are using the data voiced by Putin, who, as you know, cannot be trusted. Statements by Russian President Putin that allegedly 45% of the grain in the framework of the "grain deal" were delivered to European countries and only 3% to Africa - do not correspond to reality.

This was stated by the speaker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleg Nikolenko.
"Russia does not stop trying to undermine the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The indicated statistics are not true. From August 1, 2022 (to March 20, 2023), Ukraine exported 25.1 million tons of agricultural products through the grain corridor to 45 countries of the world:
Africa - 2.9 million tons (11.6%)
Asia - 12.1 million tons (48.2%)
Europe - 10.1 million tons (40.2%)
Russia is also well aware that part of the Ukrainian grain purchased by the “well-fed countries” of Europe is sent as humanitarian re-export to Africa and Asia. Therefore, the real statistics of exports to the African continent is even higher than 11.6%. Not to mention the fact that almost 50% of the production goes to support Asian countries," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Source:
https://www.epravda.com.ua/rus/news/2023/03/20/698251/

The strength of each nation depends on many reasons. If we take into account the population, then its contribution to the development of the economic power of the state will determine not the number of the population as a whole, but the number of able-bodied population compared to the disabled. Then the development of industry in the country and the education of the population are of great importance. Indeed, in countries where the majority of the population is employed in agriculture with a predominance of manual labor, even their enormous efforts will be generally ineffective. Therefore, everything in the state must be balanced, depending on the location of the state, climate, soil conditions, historical employment of the population, and many other reasons.

On July 17, 2023, Russia withdrew from the “grain agreement” and officially notified Turkey and Ukraine, as well as the UN secretariat, of its objection to the extension of the “grain deal” for the export of grain and other agricultural products from Ukrainian ports to the world market.

In connection with the termination of the Black Sea Initiative and the curtailment of the maritime humanitarian corridor, from 00:00 Moscow time on July 20, 2023, all ships en route to Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea will be considered as potential carriers of military cargo. Accordingly, the flag countries of such vessels will be considered involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kyiv regime, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Thus, Russia stated that it intends to sink any civilian ships that will be sent to the Black Sea ports of Ukraine. This will greatly complicate the delivery of agricultural products to many poor regions of the world. Due to Russia's sabotage of the "grain corridor" in recent months, the world has not received an additional 25 million tons of agricultural products from Ukraine. In total, 1,002 vessels left Ukrainian ports during the year of this agreement. According to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, since the start of the “grain agreement”, more than 33 million tons of products of Ukrainian farmers have been exported to 45 countries of the world.

It is worth noting that after withdrawing from the grain deal, Russia has been attacking Ukrainian ports with missiles and drones for the third night in a row, trying to hit terminals with Ukrainian grain. So, on July 19, 60,000 tons of grain were destroyed in the terminal of the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk, which was planned to be delivered to the world market two months ago.

With its piracy, Russia is blackmailing the whole world, trying to partially lift sanctions for its military invasion of Ukraine and jeopardizing food security in the world, thereby increasing the threat of hunger in many poor countries of the world.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://1prime.ru/state_regulation/20230719/841129477.html&ved=2ahUKEwjp-8fln5uAAxUCGhAIHUh2CGgQFnoECB4QAQ&usg=AOvVaw2Y-4 amIIxS74jQpfr8rfTw

https://news.zerkalo.io/world/44156.html

https://m.gordonua.com/news/war/rossiya-zayavila-chto-budet-schitat-vse-suda-idushchie-v-ukrainskie-porty-perevozchikami-gruzov-voennogo-naznacheniya-1673774.html

This summit of the BRICS countries still arouses a very lively interest in that South Africa is the host country and Putin should be present as president of Russia. Now passions are running high as South Africa is a member of the International Criminal Court and is obliged to comply with an arrest warrant issued by this court against Putin. In South Africa, they are still looking for options on how to get out of this delicate situation.

Nevertheless, in relation to the new currency of the BRICS countries, even among the members of this union there is no single vision of what kind of currency it could be. Therefore, in this matter, I do not expect any sensations. In any case, it will be another type of fiat and the appearance of the cryptocurrency will not be affected.

I do not see anything strange in this behavior of UK banks. Banks are an economic and at the same time a political instrument of any state, regardless of their form of ownership. Even in minor matters, they must act strictly according to the instructions of the higher authorities. And almost all states are not very friendly towards cryptocurrency. Therefore, it would be foolish to assume that their governments will stand by as the cryptocurrency grows and gains strength and influence among the population. At the same time, it must listen to the opinion of its future constituents. Therefore, this process is ambiguous. This explains why governments cannot decide on their attitude towards cryptocurrency, although they are trying to tighten its regulation in some places. The degree of freedom of speech and the rights of the population is also of great importance here.

On the issue of accepting bitcoin or other decentralized cryptocurrency from the state, one should not rush. Here is a completely different principle of their walking, especially in order to work with cryptocurrency, you need certain knowledge and practice. In El Salvador, this was done too quickly, without sufficient preparation and the creation of the necessary conditions. In addition, the people do not like to be forced to do something without choosing alternative actions. A failed attempt to introduce bitcoin will make other states unlikely to want to experiment in this way.
In my opinion, a decentralized cryptocurrency should only walk in society along with the national money of states. The people should always have the right to choose.

Let's then consider the question of what this "grain deal" is and what it was for. Having attacked the sovereign state of Ukraine, Russia, using its Black Sea Fleet, began to block and destroy not only any Ukrainian ships, but also civilian ships that arrived at Ukrainian seaports or left them. That is, Russia arbitrarily organized an economic and naval blockade of Ukraine, simultaneously causing huge economic damage to other states. Hence the question: are such actions of Russia lawful at all and does this not resemble ordinary piracy that comes from the Russian state itself? And the second question: should the state of Ukraine obtain permission from another state - Russia to supply its argo products to other countries?

Now, what kind of "grain agreement" is this and between whom was it concluded? Ukraine has concluded an agreement with Turkey and the UN on the conditions for the safe supply of its argo products by sea to the world market for sale. Russia has also concluded a similar agreement with Turkey and the UN. No direct agreements between Russia and Ukraine on the "grain agreement" was not concluded. The question is: is Ukraine to blame for the failure to comply with any conditions of the "grain agreement" with Russia, if it did not conclude any agreement with Russia? Since the answer is obvious, then the next question is: why then Russia began inflicting more severe missile attacks on the seaports of Ukraine after Russia withdrew from this agreement?Russia calls the damage yesterday to the Kerch bridge, which was illegally built by Russia to the occupied Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, a terrorist attack. shelling with all types of weapons throughout the territory of Ukraine, in which the actual objects were civilian infrastructure?

After answering these questions, we will move on to more specific questions about the essence of the "grain agreement".

Do you mean today's Russian night attack on the southern regions of Ukraine using Caliber missiles and Iranian drones? Yes, six Kalibr missiles were launched from the Black Sea towards Odessa tonight, all of them were destroyed by the Ukrainian air defense forces. In addition, the south of Ukraine was also attacked by several waves of Iranian Shahed-136 drones. On approach from the sea in the Odessa region, 21 Iranian drones were destroyed and four more in the sky over the Nikolaev region.

Unfortunately, fragments of downed rockets and the blast wave damaged port infrastructure facilities and several private households. It is also reported that in Nikolaev a hit on an industrial facility was recorded, which caused a fire. However, the fire was quickly put out and there were no casualties.

Source: https://focus.ua/voennye-novosti/579544-nochnaya-ataka-shahed-i-kalibrami-vzryvy-progremeli-na-yuge-ukrainy-foto

Russia is a terrorist country, and so almost daily attacks the territory of Ukraine with missiles and drones. Therefore, in fact, nothing changes in this regard.

And why did Russia withdraw from the "grain agreement", which somehow worked for exactly a year? Putin, in exchange for its extension, demanded to reconnect Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT, resume supplies of agricultural machinery, spare parts and services, lift restrictions on insurance and reinsurance, lift the ban on access to European ports, resume the operation of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline, unblock foreign assets and accounts of Russian companies associated with the production and transportation of food and fertilizers. But what about the sanctions that are useful for Russia, or do they bite a lot?

On July 17, 2023, Russia withdrew from the “grain agreement” and officially notified Turkey and Ukraine, as well as the UN secretariat, of its objection to the extension of the “grain deal” for the export of grain and other agricultural products from Ukrainian ports to the world market. In addition, Russia withdrew security guarantees for the grain corridor. In other words, Russia says it can sink civilian ships flying any flag as long as they take grain out of Ukraine. The sinking of civilian ships with non-military cargo in neutral waters can be considered piracy.

In connection with these actions of Russia, a very tense situation is developing in a number of countries, and above all in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Due to the sabotage by the Russian Federation of the work of the "grain corridor" in recent months, the world has not received an additional 25 million tons of agricultural products from Ukraine anyway. In total, during the year of this agreement, 1,002 vessels left Ukrainian ports. According to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, since the start of the "grain agreement" more than 33 million tons of products of Ukrainian farmers have been exported to 45 countries of the world.
  In many countries, even taking into account the work of the "grain agreement", grain and other agricultural products have risen in price greatly. If Russia now interferes with the export of grain under this agreement, the population of many developing countries will face starvation.

The situation is interesting because Turkey and China, which are regarded in Russia as some kind of economic allies, are interested in extending the "grain agreement". One way out of this food crisis is to escort ships from Ukrainian ports by warships from Turkey or China. Is Putin ready to continue to increase the stakes and fight virtually with the whole world?

On July 17, 2023, Russia officially abandoned the "grain agreement" and officially notified Turkey and Ukraine, as well as the UN secretariat, of its objection to the extension of the "grain deal" for the removal of grain and other agricultural products from the ports of Ukraine for export. In addition, Russia withdrew security guarantees for the grain corridor. In other words, Russia says it can sink civilian ships flying any flag if they take grain out of Ukraine. Sinking civilian ships with non-military goods in neutral waters can be regarded as piracy.

What then will Russia do if, for example, Turkey organizes an escort and escorts these civilian vessels? Will it also shoot at the warships of Turkey, which is a member of NATO? And if such convoys are organized by the UN or at least NATO countries? Will Russia, already very weakened by the war, go into conflict with NATO members, thereby unleashing an even bigger war than in Ukraine? After all, then it will already look like the Third World War.