“The implementation of the grain export initiative will continue,” Zelensky said in his speech on Wednesday evening. Russia initially said it would abandon a brokered deal that allowed grain exports from Ukraine through the Black Sea after a dramatic drone attack on its warships in the port of Sevastopol. Russia’s defense ministry said it was satisfied it had received “sufficient” assurances from Kyiv that it would not use the sea corridor to launch attacks. “We asked for assurances and guarantees from the Ukrainian side that nothing like this will happen again, that humanitarian corridors will not be used militarily,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a video meeting with the coordination council on Wednesday. But Zelensky said the Kremlin’s call for guarantees showed “the failure of Russian aggression,” noting: “Russian blackmail has led nowhere.” After eight months of war “the Kremlin says they asked for security guarantees from Ukraine,” he said. “Two hundred and fifty-two days ago Russia asked for security guarantees from the United States of America. “These are really impressive changes. This shows both the failure of Russian aggression and how strong you and I are when we stand together.” Russia’s decision to rejoin the UN grain corridor has been seen as a humiliating U-turn by Ukraine and its Western allies. “Putin was once again humiliated … the Kremlin blackmailer once again became a laughing stock in front of the whole world and backed down,” Anton Gerashchenko, a senior presidential adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, wrote via Telegram on Wednesday night. Mykhalio Podolyak, another of Zelenskiy’s senior advisers, described Russia as “a gambler in a casino who got lucky many times” but “went all-in … and lost.” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley said Vladimir Putin realized he had “shot himself in the foot” by preventing ships from entering Ukrainian ports. “Putin needs to stop using food as a weapon,” he said. “The grain initiative must now be extended beyond November without further Russian obstruction.” Putin needs to stop using food as a weapon. He has realized that he shot himself in the foot by preventing ships from entering Ukrainian ports to load grain to feed the world. The Grain initiative must now be extended beyond November without further Russian obstacles. — James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) November 2, 2022 Andrei Sizov, head of Russia-focused agricultural consultancy Sovecon, said Moscow’s decision was a “quite unexpected reversal” but the deal remained shaky given uncertainty over whether it would be extended after it expired on November 19 . The United States, however, welcomed the restoration of the agreement and urged Russia to renew it later this month. State Department spokesman Ned Price praised the U.N. and Turkish mediators, but said it was important the deal “not only be put back in motion, but renewed later this month.” Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken thanked Turkey for its efforts and reminded Moscow of the “importance of continued adherence to UN-brokered agreements and commitments to support global food security,” a statement said. Reuters contributed to this report