Ukraine on Sunday continued efforts to resume grain exports from its Black Sea ports under a deal between Moscow and Kiev aimed at easing global food shortages. However, Ukraine has warned that if Russia continues to bomb Odessa port, its shipments will face more problems.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Saturday’s attacks on the port of Odessa, saying they showed a “lack of confidence” in Moscow to implement a deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations a day earlier to resume Ukrainian grain exports. Came.
Reuters quoted local Ukrainian media as saying that the attack on the port of Odessa did not cause significant damage to the grain storage area, and according to Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kobrakov, Kyiv confirmed that preparations were underway to resume grain shipments.
Ukraine’s military said two Russian-caliber missiles hit an area with a pumping station in the port of Odessa, and air defense forces shot down the other two.
Russia said on Sunday that its forces had targeted a Ukrainian warship and an arms depot in Odessa with “high precision” missiles.
The agreement, signed by Moscow and Kyiv, was hailed as a diplomatic breakthrough that would help curb rising global food prices.
Grain exports from Ukrainian ports are expected to return to pre-war levels of five million tonnes per month, but Oleh Ostenko, economic adviser to the Ukrainian president, warned that this may be out of reach.
He said that Ukraine has the capacity to export 60 million tons of grain in the next nine months, but if the country’s ports do not work properly, the export of this amount could increase to 24 months.
The United Nations, the European Union, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy strongly condemned the bombing of Odessa.
An agreement between Moscow and Kiev on Friday aimed at allowing safe passage in and out of Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, which the Russian fleet has closed since the Ukraine crisis began on February 24, and a UN official “A practical cease-fire,” he said. “.
Source: Lebanon Debate
