Russia has destroyed almost 300,000 metric tons of grain since July in attacks on Ukraine's port facilities and on ships, the Ukrainian government said on Friday, underscoring the war's threat to global food security.
In summer, Moscow quit a U.N.-brokered deal that had allowed exports of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea safely. Since then, Russian forces have hit six civilian ships and 150 port and grain facilities during 17 attacks, destroying crops headed for export, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a statement.
"This is Russia's attempt to deepen the food crisis in the countries which depend on Ukrainian products," Kubrakov said.
Are they doing that? It's an earnest question. The ships they hit may be only the ones marked as Ukrainian.
Assuming yes, then my guess would be that other countries are trying to look the other way here to keep the war (or pretend that it's) as "cold" as possible.
Both sides have incentives to avoid turning it into an open world war, so instead they do ridiculous stuff like this.
I actually don't know, I work in the industry but in containerised freight not bulk. Last I looked something like 60% of bulk carriers fly Chinese flags but that could be anything like coal or ore etc not specificly grain. I'd be amazed if every bulk carrier in the region was flying Ukrainian flags unless the main shipping lines won't service Ukraine and they're all state owned vessels