In brief: Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said in Brussels that Europe should block Russian grain transiting Baltic ports — a move he argues could pressure Moscow to find ways to reopen Black Sea shipping. He backed calls from Estonia and Lithuania for an EU-wide ban, noting that unilateral action by the Baltic states alone carries legal risk. Russia redirected some grain exports to the Baltic after drone attacks forced new routes; sources put the diverted volume at between 1 and 2 million tons, depending on the source.
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said in a Friday interview in Brussels that Europe should block Russian grain transiting Baltic ports — a move he argues could pressure Moscow into finding ways to restore commercial shipping in the Black Sea. Kulbergs joined calls from Estonia and Lithuania for an EU-wide ban, noting that unilateral action by the Baltic states alone carries litigation risk.
Russia redirected part of its grain exports to Baltic ports after Ukrainian drone attacks forced it to seek new routes away from the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, through which it shipped 46.3 million tons of grain last season (July 2025–June 2026) — about 90% of its total seaborne grain exports. Sources disagree on the volume diverted to the Baltic: one report puts it at roughly 2 million tons, while Reuters cites about 1 million tons through Russia’s own Baltic ports plus another 1 million tons through the Baltic states’ ports.
Kulbergs also said Ukraine needs to be able to sell its grain to help close a financing gap it will face this winter. For now the proposal remains a political initiative — no EU-level decision to block the transit has been made.
Source: Bloomberg/gCaptain, Oct 17, 2026.