Foto: AFP

First shipment of Ukrainian grain since the invasion heads to Istanbul

August 2, 2022, 10:36 AM

August 2, 2022, 10:36 AM

The first shipment of Ukrainian grain exported since the Russian invasion is due to arrive in Istanbul “after midnight” Tuesday, under an agreement signed in July between kyiv and Moscow to try to ease the global food crisis.

The Sierra Leone-flagged “Razoni” set sail from Odessa shortly after 9:00 a.m. local time (06:00 GMT) on Monday with 26,000 tons of corn bound for the Lebanese port of Tripoli, and was initially due to arrive in Istanbul on Tuesday afternoon. , but now it is expected “after midnight”, starting at 9:00 p.m. GMT, according to the Turkish authorities.

In Istanbul, the ship will be inspected by a delegation made up of Turkish, Russian, Ukrainian and UN representatives, Turkish Admiral Özcan Altunbulak, head of the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) that oversees these export operations, told the press.

Grain has already left Ukraine during the conflict, but from Berdyansk, in the southeast, in the Sea of ​​Azov, occupied by Russia.

The “reason“He made his way along the Romanian coast overnight, but switched off his automatic identification system around 11:00 p.m. GMT, so he could no longer be traced, according to the website of Marine Traffic, which tracks his movements.

Both the UN, the European Union (EU) and the Secretary General of NATO welcomed the departure of this first ship with satisfaction, although they called for the full application of the agreement.

“Too soon”

According to the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kuleba, another 16 grain cargo ships “are waiting their turn” to set sail from Odessa, a key port city that, before the war, concentrated 60% of the country’s maritime activity.

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky, however, considered that it was “too early to draw conclusions and make predictions.”

The agreement, signed on July 22 in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by Turkey and the UN, allows Ukrainian exports to resume under international supervision.

The pact provides for the implementation of safe corridors to allow the movement of merchant ships in the Black Sea.

Russia and Ukraine are major agricultural powers, and their wheat, corn and sunflowers, in particular, supply the world market.

It is estimated that between 20 and 25 million tons of grain have been blocked in Ukrainian ports since the beginning of the invasion on February 24, sending prices soaring.

Russia called the ship’s departure “very positive” and hoped all sides would implement the deal, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov.

A similar agreement signed at the same time also guarantees Moscow the export of its agricultural products and fertilizers, despite Western sanctions.

Evacuations in Donetsk

On the ground, Russian forces continue to bombard Ukrainian cities in the front lines.

kyiv reported that the eastern region of Donetsk, at the center of the Russian offensive, began to be evacuated on a mandatory basis, after Zelensky asked the 200,000 people who are still believed to remain there to leave the area.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said a train with “women, children, elderly people, a lot of people with reduced mobility” arrived in the central city of Kropivnitski on Tuesday morning.

More than 130 people were evacuated from the Donetsk region, Governor Pavel Kyrylenko said.

Authorities said they want residents out of the area before the winter chill sets in, as gas pipes for heating have been cut.

In the south of the country, the head of the military administration of Kryviy Rih, Oleksander Vilkul, reported on Telegram the death of two civilians who were aboard a minibus trying to leave the occupied town of Starosillya. Five other people were evacuated, two of them seriously injured.

The city of Mikolaiv (south) was again “massively bombed” on the night of Monday to Tuesday.

The town is close to the frontline in southern Ukraine, where kyiv forces are carrying out a counteroffensive.

In the neighboring region of Kherson, a city under Russian control since March 3, “the situation is tense,” according to the presidency. But Ukraine announced on Monday that it had retaken 46 occupied towns.

Artillery is decisive in this conflict, in which the Ukrainian and Russian armies seek to wear down enemy forces with ammunition.

The United States, Ukraine’s main supporter, announced on Monday the shipment of a new arms package worth 550 million dollars, which will include ammunition for HIMARS missile launchers and 75,000 155mm howitzers.

So far, Washington has provided more than $8 billion in military aid.

In Russia, the Supreme Court on Tuesday designated the Ukrainian Azov regiment, famous for having defended the city of Mariupol, as a “terrorist organization,” which could lead to prosecutions against fighters taken prisoner by Russian forces.

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