Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on Tuesday evening about his country's position on the global food crisis and the problems that Europe is experiencing due to the lack of gas supplies, and while strong explosions rocked the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, the White House accused Moscow of working to annex more of Ukraine's territory.

The Russian president stipulated that the West lift all restrictions it imposed on the export of Russian grain in order for Moscow to facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain, which is currently suspended due to the Russian attack.

During a press conference in Tehran after a summit with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts, the Russian president said, "We will work to facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain, but we proceed from the idea that all restrictions related to air transportation of Russian grain exports will be lifted."

The Russian president stressed that the Americans had practically lifted the restrictions that were imposed on the export of Russian fertilizers to world markets.

"If they sincerely want to improve the situation on world food markets, I hope the same will happen with Russian grain exports," he added.

Earlier on Tuesday, Putin announced progress in talks on the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, and thanked his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for his "mediation" in this file.

energy predicament

Regarding gas, Putin confirmed that the Russian gas giant "Gazprom" will fulfill its "full" obligations to its customers, at a time when it reduced its supplies to Europe in the midst of the war in Ukraine.

He added that the Europeans are trying to hold Russia and Gazprom responsible for all the mistakes they make, noting that they bet on "unconventional energy sources."

The Russian president stressed that "Gazprom is ready to pump the necessary quantities" of gas, noting that the West was in trouble because it imposed sanctions on Moscow and "closed" channels that were used to deliver Russian fuel to its territory.

In recent weeks, Gazprom reduced gas shipments through the Nord Stream pipeline by 60%, claiming that it needed a "turbine" sent by the German company Siemens to Canada for maintenance.

The German government condemned this reduction, considering it the result of a "political" decision taken by the Kremlin to pressure the West, which supports Ukraine in the war between it and Russia.

The Russian gas giant relied on "force majeure" to disclaim responsibility for the massive cuts it made to its gas supplies to Europe.


War Developments

On efforts to stop the war in Ukraine, Putin said that Moscow did not see any desire from Kyiv to stick to the terms of what he said was an initial peace agreement reached last March.

He added that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are offering mediation.

On the ground, a series of violent explosions rocked the Kharkiv province in northeastern Ukraine.

For his part, Pavlo Kirilenko, Donetsk region, said that at least one person was killed on Tuesday in a Russian missile attack on the city center of Kramatorsk, adding that the attack caused loud explosions and led to a fire in an apartment building.

In Kherson, southeastern Ukraine, a regional official appointed by Russia said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces bombed a major bridge in Russian-controlled territory in southern Ukraine with HIMARS missiles supplied by the United States.

In a video clip published by the Russian "TASS" news agency, Kirill Strimosov, deputy head of the administration appointed by Moscow for the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, said that Kyiv bombed the Antonevsky Bridge and damaged it, but without harming anyone.

The one-kilometer-long bridge is one of only two crossing points into Russian-controlled territory on the western side of the river, which includes Kherson, the main city in the region, which was inhabited by 280,000 people before the start of the Russian war on Ukraine on February 24. .


Repeating the Crimean scenario

In a related context, the White House accused Russia of "seeking to annex Ukrainian lands" that it seized in recent months, stressing that Moscow is using the same "method" it used when it annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the Russian government has detailed plans to annex a number of regions in Ukraine, including Kherson, Zaporozhye and all of Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

He added that the "illegitimate" authorities imposed by Moscow in these regions "will organize fake referendums on reunification with Russia, perhaps next September during the Russian local elections."

Kirby stressed that Russia is also working to establish Russian banks in these areas to generalize the use of the ruble in them, forcing residents to apply for Russian citizenship, and imposing their followers in the security services, while at the same time sabotaging the civilian Internet, he said.