It is bound for the port of Tripoli, Lebanon, and is carrying a cargo of about 26,500 metric tons (more than 29,000 US tons) of corn, the United Nations said. The trip comes after a landmark agreement, brokered by the UN and Turkey and signed by representatives from Russia and Ukraine in July, which eases the resumption of vital grain exports. About 20 million metric tons of wheat and corn are stuck in the port of Odessa, USAID Administrator Samantha Power said last week. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Monday a “day of relief for the world, especially for our friends in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.” According to the terms of the agreement, the ship will anchor off the coast of Istanbul around 3 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET) on Tuesday, where it will be inspected before proceeding to its final destination. Since the first days of the war, Ukraine’s southern ports have been blockaded by Russia, denying Ukrainian grain from traveling to the many countries that rely on it. The July 23 deal promised to unblock Black Sea ports to allow safe passage of grain and oilseeds, following routes traced by Ukrainian pilots to avoid mines and with stops in Istanbul to ensure weapons would not they return illegally. Country. It followed months of diplomacy and raised hopes around the world — but the deal’s stability was tested within hours when Russian airstrikes hit Odessa. Senior Western diplomats responded with subdued optimism after Monday’s walkout, welcoming the resumption of grain exports but urging Russia to stick to the deal. “This is such an important step, but it’s a first step,” Britain’s ambassador to Kyiv, Melinda Simmons, tweeted on Monday. “[Russia] now he must honor their side of this bargain and let the grain ships pass safely. And they need to stop burning and appropriating [Ukrainian] cereals.” “The world will watch the continued implementation of this agreement to feed people around the world with millions of tons of trapped Ukrainian grain,” added the US Embassy in Kyiv. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that the departing mission was “very positive.” “It is a good opportunity to test the effectiveness of the mechanisms agreed during the Istanbul talks,” he said. No additional grain shipments are expected to depart from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports on Monday, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul said. The JCC will oversee the export of Ukrainian grain. According to the center, dates and times for further shipments are still being worked out and will likely be finalized once the first shipment passes inspection in Istanbul on Tuesday. Ukraine and Russia are both major suppliers of food to the world. In normal times, Ukraine would export about three-quarters of the grain it produces. According to data from the European Commission, approximately 90% of these exports were transported by sea, from Black Sea ports. The United Nations hopes that under the deal, a monthly export of 5 million tons of US grain would leave ports each month, a figure comparable to pre-war levels. But despite the optimism surrounding the deal, the Russian invasion has still taken a significant toll on Ukraine’s crop. Last month, Ukraine’s grain traders association said it expected a grain and oilseed harvest of 69.4 million tonnes, marginally higher than earlier forecasts but well below the 106 million tonnes harvested last year.
