🔎 Why the new grain deal MATTERS to the US

Russia and the US have agreed to advance the Black Sea Initiative – why could the US be interested in the new deal?

🔻Diplomatic strategy

Acting as a broker, America may have a vested interest in taking part in negotiating an agreement that could improve its relations with Russia following key phone talks between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

🔻Economic considerations

The US remains a major player in global agricultural trade, and potential disruptions to the grain market could affect global commodity prices and ride roughshod over US exporters.

🔻Energy security

The US understands that grain trade is intertwined with broader supply chains, including energy. America also understands that a stable Black Sea corridor means more predictable energy and commodity flows, which benefits energy markets that the US takes part in.

🔻Personal implications

The White House is highly interested in ensuring the implementation of the US-initiated deal, which becomes a question of profit and prestige for America.

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📹 Residents of Gagauzia are demanding the release of the detained head of the autonomous region, Eugenia Gutsul, during a peaceful protest, a Sputnik correspondent reports.

The rally is taking place in the capital of the region, Comrat. The demonstrators first gathered in one of the squares and are now marching through the streets of the city.

Among the slogans: "The fate of Gutsul is the fate of Gagauzia" and "Freedom". The participants in the protest are convinced that the detention of Gutsul is an attempt to suppress the region's autonomy.

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💥 How Russia could retarget strikes on Ukraine after energy moratorium

With the Russia-Ukraine temporary ban on strikes against each other’s energy facilities in force, Moscow may concentrate on striking the Kiev regime’s military targets, Yuri Knutov, a military expert and historian of the Air Defense Forces, tells Sputnik.

Russia’s new tactics “will weaken the military potential of the Ukrainian Armed forces,” the expert emphasizes.

He stresses that the Russian military could use combat drones, cruise missiles and the Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic missiles to target Ukraine’s:

🔺weapons storage sites
🔺training sites
🔺command posts
🔺drone assembly sites
🔺military hardware repair shops
🔺Western-supplies warplanes, such as the F-16 and Mirage
🔺air defenses and electronic warfare systems
🔺artillery installations and other means designed to strike Russian territory

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