This video grab handed out by the Romanian Defence Ministry and taken from the cockpit camera of an F-16 fighter jet of the Romanian Air Force shows the moment when the pilot engaged an attack on a drone fying over the Black Sea, near Sulina, Romania, on October 17, 2026. (AFP Photo / Romanian Defence Ministry)
Intensified Russian attacks in the Black Sea targeting Ukraine’s grain exports are worsening a “perfect storm” facing global food supplies, the EU’s top diplomat said on Oct. 20.
“Six attacks in 10 days by suspected Russian drones marks a dangerous and unacceptable escalation in the Black Sea,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told the European Parliament.
The string of attacks on civilian vessels off the coasts of EU and NATO members Romania and Bulgaria in recent weeks have stirred condemnation and concern in Europe.
Kallas said the Kremlin is once again stepping up efforts to cut off Ukraine’s revenues as Moscow’s forces are bogged down on the front line.
“Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s export routes. Ukraine is losing an estimated 60 million euros [$67 million] a day in export revenues,” Kallas said.
Ukraine is a major global supplier of staples such as maize, wheat and barley, with the vast majority passing through the Black Sea.
“Global grain stockpiles are larger than in 2022, when Russia blockaded 20 million tons of Ukrainian grain,” she said.
“But the global food system is now facing a perfect storm: A super El Nino, drought in both hemispheres and conflict in the Middle East, straining fertilizer exports.”
Kallas warned: “Russia’s actions make it harder to put food on people’s plates across the world.”
EU leaders last week called for the “immediate restoration of safe passage for civilian shipping” in the Black Sea.
The bloc has in recent years built up so-called “solidarity lanes” through the EU to help provide an alternative to the Black Sea route.
But Kallas warned “Russia is now also targeting border crossings with Moldova and Romania and Poland, which puts the alternative routes at risk too.”
