This summer, Ukraine intensified its drone strike campaign targeting Russia’s economic infrastructure, including oil refineries and logistics centers of online platforms, aiming to destroy infrastructure that it claims is essential for Russia’s military operations.
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Aggressive Moscow responded with strikes against Ukraine’s economic infrastructure, including Ukraine’s grain exports through the Black Sea.
“The Kyiv regime decided to harm our economy. What did it do? It itself opened this Pandora’s box. Well, then expect a response aimed at your most sensitive economic sectors,” Putin explained to the Kremlin propagandist Pavel Zarubin.
He emphasized that the strikes, which threatened Ukraine’s agricultural exports, will not cause a global food shortage, as Russia allegedly will be able to replace Ukraine’s exports with its own, even if Kyiv continues to strike Russia’s grain export infrastructure.
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“We are indeed facing difficulties related to the transportation of our goods, but we will solve these problems. Therefore, there will be no shortage in the global market,” the Kremlin host explained.
Previously, Russia and Ukraine adhered to an agreement on the protection of grain exports through the Black Sea, mediated by Turkey. However, in 2023, Russia unilaterally withdrew from this agreement.
Putin also reiterated his position that Moscow is allegedly open to peace negotiations, but only based on the “reality on the ground,” and not, as he called them, “exotic” proposals that Ukraine supposedly made through intermediaries.
