The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain left the port of Odesa on Monday under a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that is expected to release large stores of Ukrainian crops to foreign markets and ease a growing food crisis.
The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni left Odesa with more than 23,000 tonnes of maize bound for Lebanon.
“The first grain ship since the Russian aggression has left port,” Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Twitter, posting a video of the longship honking its horn as it slowly headed toward to the sea
Posting separately on Facebook, Kubrakov said Ukraine is the fourth largest exporter of corn in the world, “so the possibility to export it through the ports is a colossal success in ensuring global food security.”
“Today, Ukraine, together with its partners, takes another step to prevent hunger in the world,” he added.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hailed the ship’s departure as “very positive,” saying it would help test “the efficiency of the mechanisms that were agreed upon during the talks in Istanbul.”
The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni, carrying Ukrainian grain, leaves the port of Odesa, Ukraine, on Monday. (Oleksandr Kubrakov/Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine/Reuters)
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the Razoni was expected to dock in Istanbul on Tuesday afternoon at the entrance to the Bosphorus, where joint teams of Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and UN officials would board. for inspections.
In an interview with Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, Akar warned that the global food crisis threatened to trigger “a serious migration wave from Africa to Europe and Turkey.”
The corn will be headed to Lebanon, a Middle Eastern nation in the grip of what the World Bank has described as one of the world’s worst financial crises in more than 150 years. A 2020 explosion at its main port of Beirut tore apart its capital and destroyed grain silos there, part of which collapsed after a week-long fire just Sunday.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said other ships would also leave Ukrainian ports through secure corridors under agreements signed in Istanbul on July 22, but did not provide further details.
The Turkish cargo ship Polarnet is seen loaded with Ukrainian grain at a port in Odesa region, Ukraine, on Friday. (Presidential Press Office of Ukraine/The Associated Press)
Russia and Ukraine signed separate deals with Turkey and the UN, paving the way for Ukraine, one of the world’s key breadbaskets, to export 20 million tons of grain and other agricultural products that have been stuck in seaports Black due to the invasion of Russia.
The agreements also allow Russia to export grain and fertilizers.
Kudos to the export coordination center
Turkey’s defense minister praised a joint coordination center made up of Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and UN officials as a place where opposing sides can engage with each other.
“The problems they have are obvious, there is a war. But it is the only place where the two sides can come together,” said Akar. “Despite the ups and downs, there is a good atmosphere for dialogue.”
Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry said 16 other ships, all blocked since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, were waiting their turn at Odesa ports .
Kubrakov said the shipments would also help Ukraine’s war-torn economy.
Planning for next year
“Unblocking the ports will provide at least $1 billion in foreign exchange earnings to the economy and an opportunity for the agricultural sector to plan for next year,” Kubrakov said.
The United Nations welcomed the development, saying in a statement that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hoped the shipments would “bring much-needed stability and relief to global food security, particularly in the most fragile humanitarian contexts.”
The resumption of grain shipments came as clashes erupted elsewhere in Ukraine.
Residents again urged to leave Donetsk
Ukraine’s presidential office said at least three civilians were killed and 16 others wounded by Russian shelling in the Donetsk region over the past 24 hours.
Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko repeated a call for all residents to evacuate. He particularly emphasized the need to evacuate some 52,000 children still remaining in the region.
In Kharkiv, two people were injured in a Russian attack in the morning. One was injured while waiting for a bus, and another was injured when a Russian shell exploded near an apartment building.
The southern city of Mykolaiv has also faced repeated shelling, which led to fires near a medical facility, destroying a humanitarian aid shipment containing medicine and food.
A damaged printing factory is seen Sunday after a Russian missile attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Reuters)
Shortly after the deal was signed on July 22, a Russian missile targeted Odesa. Analysts warned that continued fighting could threaten the grain deal.
“The danger remains: the Odesa region has faced constant shelling and only regular supplies could prove the viability of the signed agreements,” said Volodymyr Sidenko, an expert at the Razumkov Center think tank in Kyiv.
“The departure of the first ship does not solve the food crisis, it is only the first step that could also be the last if Russia decides to continue the attacks in the south.”