A first humanitarian ship chartered by the UN set sail on Tuesday from the Ukrainian port of Pivdenny (south) loaded with 23,000 tons of grain for Africa, announced the Ministry of Infrastructure of this country at war.
“The Brave Commander ship with grains for Africa set sail from the port of Pivdenny. This morning, the cargo has left for the port of Djibouti, where the groceries will be delivered upon arrival to consumers in Ethiopia,” the ministry said on Telegram.
In total “23,000 tons of wheat are on board this ship chartered by the United Nations World Food Program,” he added.
Present at the port of Pivdenny on Sunday, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandre Kubrakov said he hoped “two or three” additional UN-chartered vessels could set sail soon.
This is the first shipment of food aid to leave Ukraine after the signing in July of agreements between kyiv and Moscow, with the mediation of Turkey and the support of the UN, to export Ukrainian cereals blocked due to the war.
The first commercial ship sailed on August 1. Since the entry into force of the agreement, fifteen ships have left Ukraine, according to the country’s authorities, but still no UN humanitarian ship.
Ukraine and Russia are among the world’s largest exporters of grain, the price of which has skyrocketed since the start of the war.
According to the World Food Program, a record 345 million people in 82 countries are facing acute food insecurity, while 50 million people in 45 countries are at risk of starvation without humanitarian assistance.
