Ukraine has proposed through a third party that Russia and Ukraine mutually suspend attacks on civilian targets in the Black Sea, Reuters reports; Moscow has yet to respond formally. Ukrainian grain exports are down 76% year-on-year so far this month, and strikes this week forced all three grain terminals at Novorossiysk to suspend operations temporarily. Turkey has separately been pushing both sides toward a Black Sea maritime moratorium.
The truce proposal does not extend to Ukraine's wider campaign against Russia's seaborne economy. On Friday a Ukrainian drone assault set off a blaze at Ust-Luga on the Gulf of Finland, one of Russia's largest petroleum export outlets; Leningrad governor Alexander Drozdenko said more than 50 drones were downed across the region. Latvian fighter jets shot down a drone that entered its airspace, and Finland temporarily restricted parts of the Baltic Sea as a precaution.
Context
The truce proposal follows the heavy blows against maritime infrastructure covered in the late-July escalation sequence and Turkey's August permit curbs on Novorossiysk-bound traffic.
