Ukraine Latest: Kyiv Warns of Food Crisis Amid Port Blockade

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Bloomberg News

Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) —

Ukraine warned that alternative routes for grain exports would not suffice to avert a global food crisis as Russia continues to blockade the Black Sea ports.

Ukraine said its forces had reclaimed territory in a major city in the Luhansk region where Russia has recently made advances, as President Vladimir Putin’s invasion moves past the 100-day mark.

The war has prompted a major rewrite of the Biden administration’s National Security Strategy, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Russia Acting Like ‘Pirates’ on Black Sea Ports (11:37 a.m.)

Ukraine’s infrastructure minister said alternative routes for exporting grain from the country would not suffice to replace the Black Sea ports that Russia is blockading, and warned of a critical global food shortage.

“All of our activity won’t cover even 20% of what we could do through the Black Sea ports,” Oleksandr Kubrakov told the Financial Times.

Ukraine Claims Recapture of 20% Of Luhansk City (11:25 a.m.)

Ukraine’s troops counterattacked in Sievierodonetsk, having taken back about one fifth of the area of the city in the Luhansk region. Heavy street fighting is ongoing in the area, which is the main target for Russia’s advance, according to the head of the region’s government.

Russia to Facilitate Citizenship Applications in Kherson Region (8:35 a.m.)

Russia will open facilities for people wanting to obtain Russian citizenship in areas of the Kherson region.

The first will appear in Novaya Kakhovka and the surrounding area, Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the region’s military and civil administration, told TASS on Saturday.

Ukraine’s Leader Calls on US Cities to Stop Russia City Cooperation (8:30 a.m.)

US cities should stop cooperation with Russian sister-city counterparts, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video message. Zelenskiy cited Portland, Oregon linked with Khabarovsk and San Jose, California paired with Yeketerinburg as examples.

Oil Sands Crude Prices Nosedive as Russian Bans Upend Market (11 p.m.)

Canadian heavy crude prices have collapsed as the European war upends global market flows and makes oil sands crude less valuable. Western Canadian Select’s discount to benchmark West Texas Intermediate grew $1.70 to $20.80 a barrel in Alberta on Friday, the widest in almost seven months, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Soaring energy costs prompted the Biden administration to tap US strategic petroleum reserves, nearly all of which is similar in grade to oil sands crude. As many as 39 million barrels of these sour barrels will be released this summer, just as oil sands sites come out of maintenance. A glut of ultra-light oil is also contributing to the collapse.

US Must Sanction Enablers of Russia’s War: Senators (7:45 p.m.)

A bipartisan group of US senators, including Mark Warner, Marco Rubio, Ron Wyden and John Cornyn wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to ask for sanctions against “lower-tier enablers” of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The senators asked Yellen to take into account a list of 6,000 Russian officials and regime enablers compiled by Anti-Corruption Foundation of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny.

Putin Says Russia Will Allow Ukraine Grain Exports (7:43 p.m.)

Putin said Russia is ready to facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain and can guarantee the safety of shipments from ports it controls. In an interview with Russian state television, he urged Ukraine to clear its waters of mines and vowed Russia “will not take advantage of the clearance situation in order to launch any attacks from the sea.”

More broadly, the Russian president sought to deflect Russia’s responsibility for contributing to the global run-up in food and energy costs, blaming foreign governments and saying Europe’s “short-sighted policies” drove up gas prices on the continent.

He also slammed the EU for its sixth package of sanctions, warning it will make worse the situation on the fertilizer market. Russia is able to boost its grain exports in the next season to 50 million tons from 37 million tons, Putin said.

Bloomberg.com