Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's claims of an "energy truce," Russia has continued attacks targeting Ukraine's Black Sea ports.

According to Reuters and other sources on the 12th (local time), the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that it struck a vessel transporting military supplies to the Ukrainian port of Odesa along the Black Sea coast that day.

It added, "We continued drone attacks on Ukraine's port infrastructure."

Ukraine has demanded a "Black Sea maritime truce" from Russia, arguing that the Black Sea, which serves as a grain export route, should be included in the truce proposed by President Trump.

As Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine's Black Sea and Danube River ports during the grain harvest season for crops such as wheat, upward pressure on grain prices is mounting.

The FAO Food Price Index for September, released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) earlier this month, stood at 136.0, up 5.8% from the same period last year.

While lower than the all-time high of 160.2 recorded in March 2022 in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it is the highest figure since November 2022 (136.0).

Attention is focused on whether both sides will actually implement a truce as President Trump claimed on the 11th that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a truce in the energy sector.

In particular, tension remains high as specific targets and durations for the truce have not been mentioned.

With neither Russia nor Ukraine clearly confirming President Trump's claim of a "truce agreement," some interpretations suggest it may be pressuring remarks by President Trump aimed at driving down energy prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. (Note: Midterm elections context preserved from source text)

President Trump made the exact same claim on September 14 of last month, stating that both sides had agreed not to strike energy targets, but attacks by both sides continued afterward.

(Photo: Getty Images)