{
  "id": 20166493,
  "title": "Reaping what they sow: The “grain war” between Russia and Ukraine is once again threatening global food security",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/15/reaping-what-they-sow-the-grain-war-between-russia-and-ukraine-is",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-15T11:27:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Insider",
    "slug": "the-insider",
    "url": "https://theins.press/en/politics/299605"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In recent months, a conflict known as the \"grain war\" between Russia and Ukraine has once again put global food security at risk. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that they had intentionally targeted only ships carrying weapons or ammunition to Ukraine. However, Ukrainian authorities reported 36 strikes on ports in 2024 and a staggering 96 strikes in 2025 alone. By mid-August 2026, these attacks had increased to 1,090 damaged facilities. The intensity of missile and drone raids on Ukrainian ports surged from 14 attacks per month in October 2025 to over 20 attacks per month in the first quarter of 2026.\n\nRussia's attacks have been ongoing since the fall of 2025, with 651 port infrastructure facilities damaged between 2022 and 2025, 325 of which were struck in 2025. In the first eight months of 2026, the damage to ports was far more extensive than in the previous few years of the conflict. Ukraine has responded with its own attacks, targeting merchant ships in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, with the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces conducting systematic strikes as part of their \"Moscow will fall via Crimea\" operation. This campaign has led to the damage or destruction of over 300 vessels, resulting in more than 40 sailor deaths. The situation has escalated to the point that NATO has deployed additional forces to the Black Sea, while Ukraine's attacks on Russian agricultural export terminals and grain carriers have further strained global food supplies.",
  "summary": "Since the beginning of summer, the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces have been conducting campaigns to restrict one another’s shipping in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. In October, the attacks shifted to the previously safe corridor in the territorial waters of Romania and Bulgaria. Navigation in the Black Sea today is more dangerous than anywhere else in the world — including the Middle…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Business Insider",
        "title": "Ukraine's war robots are starting to down Russia's drones. It could eventually change the fight in the kill zone.",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/15/ukraines-war-robots-are-starting-to-down-russias-drones-it-could",
        "published": "2026-11-15T12:12:01.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}