The authorities of kyiv and Moscow celebrate the implementation of the agreements sealed on July 22, which will allow the departure of another 16 ships that were immobilized due to the invasion
At 9:15 a.m. on Monday, the first cargo ship with Ukrainian grain since the beginning of the war in February left the port of Odessa. This was stated by the Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov, a signatory on behalf of kyiv of the agreement for the export of grain concluded in Istanbul on July 22.
The ship that transports the vital food is the ‘Razoni’, with the flag of Sierra Leone. His destination, the port of Tripoli, in northern Lebanon. She carries 26,000 tons of Ukrainian corn on board. According to Kubrakov, in Odesa there are another 16 ships that have been immobilized since Russia began the invasion of Ukraine, of which 10 are ready to set sail shortly with cereals.
Ukraine is one of the largest exporters of grain and food. It represents 42% of sunflower oil, 16% of corn and 9% of wheat sold on the world market. Kubrakov has pointed out through his Facebook account that “Ukraine is the fourth largest exporter of grain in the world, so the possibility of sending it through our ports is a colossal success to guarantee world food security.”
“Today, Ukraine and its partners are taking another step forward to prevent world hunger. Unlocking the ports will generate at least a billion dollars (about 980 million euros) in profits for the economy and an opportunity for the agricultural sector to plan next year’s crops, “she emphasized. The Ukrainian minister was grateful to Turkey and the UN stating that “despite the difficulties, they did not stop working on preparations for exports.” “With the help of our partners, we intend to reach full export capacity for agricultural products soon,” Kubrakov added.
The ships must cross the western sector of the Black Sea, cross the Bosphorus and reach Istanbul, where the tripartite coordination and distribution center (Ukraine, Turkey and Russia) has been installed, which must ensure compliance with the agreement and attend to the incidents that may occur. This entity will also have the responsibility to verify that the ships returning to Ukraine to collect more grain do not carry weapons. The inspection will be carried out by Turkish forces in the presence of Russian representatives, since kyiv rejected that the supervision is carried out only by Moscow.
The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, described this Monday as “very positive” the departure of the first ship with Ukrainian grain. “This is very positive news because it will be a good opportunity to check the effectiveness” of what was agreed in Istanbul. In his words, “we hope that the agreements will be applied by all parties and that the mechanisms will work effectively.”
In addition to Odessa, the Ukrainian ports of Chermomorsk and Pivdenni will be used. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accompanied by representatives of the G7, the UN and Turkey, personally supervised the preparations and the process of loading the ships in Odessa and Chernomorsk, the Ministry of Infrastructure in kyiv reported at the time.
The agreements signed
On July 22, two separate agreements were signed in Istanbul with Turkey and the United Nations for the export of grain, Ukraine on the one hand and Russia on the other. kyiv promised to guide the ships safely and avoid minefields, while Russia agreed not to attack Ukrainian cargo ships and port infrastructure. However, just the next day, it fired several missiles at the port of Odessa, claiming that the targets hit were military in nature. “The attack on the port of Odessa has been a spit by the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, in the faces of the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, and the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Ukrainian foreign spokesman said the next day. , Oleg Nikolenko.
There is also the circumstance that Oleksiy Vadaturski, Oleksiy Vadaturski, has just died in the company of his spouse in a bombing in Mykolaiv. This was denounced on Sunday by the governor of the region, Vitali Kim. “Hero of Ukraine, the general director of the Nibulon company Oleksiy Vadaturski and his wife, Raisa Mikhailovna Vadaturska, tragically perished on Saturday night as a result of the shelling of the city,” Kim said.
In June 2020, Forbes Ukraine ranked Vadaturski 15th on the list of the richest Ukrainians, with an estimated fortune of about $450 million. The businessman and his wife were the only fatalities in the weekend attacks against Mykolaiv, the most intense since the beginning of the Russian invasion, according to the city’s mayor, Oleksandr Sienkévich, who does not consider the death of the couple casual. Vadaturski does not rule out that they could have been the intended target of the Russian bombs.
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