عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Russia and Ukraine Say Ammonia Pipeline Was Damaged, in Potential Blow to Grain Deal

Communal employees work on a site of an overnight explosion in the center of Kharkiv on June 6, 2023, following missile strike, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
Communal employees work on a site of an overnight explosion in the center of Kharkiv on June 6, 2023, following missile strike, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
TT
TT

Russia and Ukraine Say Ammonia Pipeline Was Damaged, in Potential Blow to Grain Deal

Communal employees work on a site of an overnight explosion in the center of Kharkiv on June 6, 2023, following missile strike, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
Communal employees work on a site of an overnight explosion in the center of Kharkiv on June 6, 2023, following missile strike, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

A pipeline used to transport ammonia fertilizer from Russia via Ukraine which may be central to the future of the Black Sea grain deal has been damaged, according to both Kyiv and Moscow, potentially complicating talks around the accord.

Russia's defense ministry said a "Ukrainian sabotage group" had blown up a section of the pipeline on Monday night near the village of Masyutivka in Kharkiv region. The village is on the frontline between Russian and Ukrainian troops.

"As a result of this terrorist act, there were civilian casualties. They have been provided with necessary medical assistance," the Russian ministry said in a statement.

"At present ammonia residues are being blown out of the damaged sections of the pipeline from Ukrainian territory. There are no casualties among Russian servicemen."

Oleh Sinehubov, the governor of Ukraine's Kharkiv region gave a different version of events. He said in a statement posted on Telegram that Russian troops had shelled the pipeline.

Six Russian shells had landed near a pumping station near Masyutivka at around 5.45 pm (1445 GMT) on Tuesday, nearly 24 hours after Moscow alleged Ukraine had blown up the same pipeline, he said.

Reuters could not independently verify the Russian and Ukrainian assertions.

Resumption of supplies via the Tolyatti-Odesa pipeline, the world's longest ammonia pipeline, may be key to the renewal of the Black Sea grain export deal. The pipeline has been closed since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 in what it called a "special military operation".

Russia has repeatedly cast doubt on whether it will continue to renew the grain deal, brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye, which facilitates agricultural exports from Ukraine via the Black Sea.

Among the conditions for renewal that Moscow has put forward is resumption of the Togliatti-Odesa pipeline.

Moscow has said it will limit the number of ships allowed to travel to Ukraine's Pivdennyi port near Odesa under the deal until the pipeline is restarted.

In a briefing on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it would take between one and three months to repair the damaged section of the pipeline.

"The ammonia pipeline was one of the linchpins of the implementation of the agreements made in Istanbul on July 22. The (pipeline) was key to global food security," Zakharova said.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

European Court Rules Against Greece over Migrant’s Illegal Deportation

FILE - Migrants walk to enter Greece from Türkiye by crossing the Maritsa river (Evros river in Greek) near the Pazarkule border gate in Edirne, Türkiye, March 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)
FILE - Migrants walk to enter Greece from Türkiye by crossing the Maritsa river (Evros river in Greek) near the Pazarkule border gate in Edirne, Türkiye, March 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)
TT
TT

European Court Rules Against Greece over Migrant’s Illegal Deportation

FILE - Migrants walk to enter Greece from Türkiye by crossing the Maritsa river (Evros river in Greek) near the Pazarkule border gate in Edirne, Türkiye, March 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)
FILE - Migrants walk to enter Greece from Türkiye by crossing the Maritsa river (Evros river in Greek) near the Pazarkule border gate in Edirne, Türkiye, March 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)

The European Court of Human Rights, in a landmark ruling Tuesday, found that Greece had illegally deported a woman back to neighboring Türkiye and described the use of summary expulsions or “pushbacks” as systematic.
The decision at the court in Strasbourg, France could impact how Europe handles migrants at its borders, at a time when Greece and several European Union member states are seeking tougher immigration controls, The Associated Press reported.
A Turkish woman — identified only by her initials A.R.E. — was awarded damages of 20,000 euros ($21,000) after the court ruled that she had been improperly expelled in 2019 after crossing the Greek-Turkish border, having been presented no opportunity to make an asylum claim.
“The court considered that there were strong indications to suggest that there had existed, at the time of the events alleged, a systematic practice of ‘pushbacks’ of third-country nationals by the Greek authorities, from the Evros region (on the Greek border) to Türkiye,” the decision said.
Citing a lack of evidence, the court rejected a second claim made by an Afghan man, who said he had been illegally returned to Türkiye from the Greek island of Samos in 2020 when he was 15.
Greek government representatives at the hearings had denied the allegations, challenging the authenticity of the evidence presented and arguing that Greece's border policies comply with international law.
The UN refugee agency has urged Greece to more thoroughly investigate multiple pushback allegations, while several major human rights groups have described the alleged irregular deportations as a systematic practice.
Greece’s National Transparency Authority, a publicly-funded corruption watchdog, said that it found no evidence to support the pushback allegations following a four-month investigation in 2022.
The European Court of Human Rights is an international court based in Strasbourg, France, that adjudicates human rights violations by 46 member states of the Council of Europe, a body older than the European Union and its predecessor, the European Economic Community.