KYIV, July 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ukraine said it expects to export its first grain shipments under a UN-backed deal to lift Russia’s blockade “this week”, days after missile strikes by the Kremlin threw the accord into doubt.
Kyiv and Moscow on Friday agreed the landmark plan to release millions of tonnes of grain trapped in Ukraine’s Black Sea ports in a move hailed as a major step to averting a global food crisis.
Less than 24 hours later Moscow struck the port in Odessa — one of three exit hubs designated in the agreement — sparking fury in Kyiv and heightening fears the Kremlin would not go through with the deal.
But despite the weekend attack, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov told journalists Monday that Kyiv was still working to re-start exports and expected to see the agreement begin “working in the coming days”.
“We are preparing for everything to start this week,” said Kubrakov, who led Ukraine’s delegation at last week’s grain talks in Istanbul.
Ukrainian officials said the port of Chornomorsk in southwestern Ukraine would be the first to be opened and insisted on the importance of security following the strike on nearby Odessa.
“Our position is very simple. We signed an agreement with the UN and Turkiye. If the sides guarantee security, the agreement will work. If they do not, it will not work,” Kubrakov said.
He said that de-mining will take place “exclusively” in the shipping lanes required for grain exports, while Ukrainian ships will accompany the departing convoys that will transport not only grain but also fertiliser.
Ukraine and Russia are major exporters of agricultural products, but Moscow’s invasion has severely disrupted Ukrainian wheat exports as the fighting damaged harvests and left ports blocked and mined.
Russia’s naval blockade helped send global prices soaring and sparked fears of famine as it left up to 25 million tonnes of wheat and other grains stranded in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has estimated the value of grain stocks to be exported under the deal at around $10 billion.
The Kremlin insisted Monday that its strikes on Odessa “should not affect” the Turkish-brokered push to send the grain to world markets.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow’s cruise missiles hit “exclusively” military infrastructure and were “not connected with the agreement on the export of grain.”
Russia has looked to shift the blame for the food crisis onto Western sanctions and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was visiting Africa on a tour aimed at bolstering Moscow’s ties in the face of growing isolation.
Lavrov, who is visiting Uganda, Ethiopia and Congo-Brazzaville, told his Egyptian counterpart on his first stop that Russia would meet grain orders.
The deal for grain exports has brought little reprieve on the battlefield where Russian forces carried out bombardments in numerous regions. — NNN-AGENCIES
