President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited one of Ukraine’s main Black Sea ports Friday, a week after a deal was struck with Russia, Turkey and the United Nations to create safe corridors for ships to export grains that have been trapped in the country since the war began five months ago.
His visit to a port in the Odesa region comes as workers were seen preparing terminals for grain exports, which are relied on by millions of impoverished people worldwide facing hunger.He said the export of grain will begin with the departure of several ships that were loaded but could not depart the Ukrainian ports after the Russian invasion.
The complexities of the agreement and concerns about the safety of shipping crews has set the deal off to a slow, cautious start. It's been a week since it was signed, and no grains have yet left ports. But the sides are facing a ticking clock — the deal is only good for 120 days. “We are ready,” Ukraine’s minister of infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov, told reporters at the port of Odesa on Friday.
Lloyd’s List, a global publisher of shipping news, noted Friday that while U.N. officials are pushing for the initial voyage this week to show progress in the deal, continued uncertainty on key details will likely prevent an immediate ramping-up of shipments. Getting wheat and other food out is critical to farmers in Ukraine, who are running out of storage capacity amid a new harvest. Those grains are vital to millions of people in Africa, parts of the Middle East and South Asia, who are already facing food shortages and, in some cases, famine.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu expressed similar optimism in a press briefing, framing the deal as a significant step forward between the warring sides.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Russian can't be relied on to allow Ukrainian grain exports, says Polish PMWARSAW — Russia cannot be trusted to honor an agreement to allow the export of Ukrainian grain from Odesa, the Polish prime minister said on Wednesday, after…
Read more »
Anxiety grows among Ukrainian farmers over fate of grain exports despite deal with RussiaThe first ships carrying grain exports could leave within days but already the agreement has been jeopardized by a Russian missile strike near Odesa last Saturday
Read more »
Ship owners assess risks, navigate mined waters to extract grains from UkraineThe goal over the next four months is to get some 20 million tons of grain out of three Ukrainian sea ports blocked since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion
Read more »
Separatists say shelling killed Ukrainian prisoners of warAt least 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war captured during the fighting for Mariupol have been killed by Ukrainian shelling, Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine said.
Read more »
Ukraine's grain is ready to go. But ships aren't. Why? RiskShipping companies are not rushing to export millions of tons of grain trapped in Ukraine, despite a breakthrough deal to provide safe corridors through the Black Sea. That is because explosive mines are drifting in the waters, ship owners are assessing the risks and many still have questions over how the deal will unfold.
Read more »