Shift in war’s front seen as grain leaves Ukraine; plant hit
- 2 more ships carrying corn and soybeans departed from Ukrainian Black Sea ports taking the total to 10 since a deal to unblock exports was reached
- In peacetime, Ukraine exported up to six million tonnes of grain a month from its ports on the Black Sea and Sea of Azov coast
Two more ships, carrying corn and soybeans, departed from Ukrainian Black Sea ports on Monday, Türkiye and Ukraine said, taking the total to 10 since the first ship sailed last week under a deal with Russia to unblock Ukrainian grain exports.
The United Nations and Türkiye brokered the agreement last month after warnings the halt in grain shipments caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to severe food shortages and even outbreaks of famine in parts of the world.
The Sacura, which departed from Pivdennyi, is carrying 11,000 tonnes of soybeans to Italy, Turkey’s defence ministry said on Monday, while the Arizona, which left Chornomorsk, is carrying 48,458 tonnes of corn to Iskenderun in southern Türkiye.
Ukraine’s infrastructure minister, Oleksandr Kubrakov, confirmed both ships had left, adding Pivdennyi, the third Ukrainian port included in the deal, was finally up and running as part of the initiative.
Kubrakov had said previously the opening of Pivdennyi would push Ukraine’s total export capacity up to three million tonnes a month.