His scathing comments, via video to students in Australia on Wednesday, came as the ship completed an inspection in Turkey before it continued to its final destination in Lebanon under a deal aimed at easing a global food crisis. The ship, Razoni, departed from the Black Sea port of Odessa, Ukraine, early Monday, carrying 26,527 tons of corn to Tripoli, Lebanon. That followed a UN-brokered grain and fertilizer export deal between Moscow and Kiev last month – a rare diplomatic breakthrough in a protracted war of attrition. But Zelenskyy, speaking through an interpreter, said more time was needed to see if other grain shipments would follow. WATCHES | Ukrainian grain ship heads to Lebanon after inspection in Istanbul:
Ukrainian grain ship steaming to Lebanon after inspection in Istanbul
The first grain ship to leave Ukraine since the start of the war completed a multi-party inspection in Istanbul on Wednesday and then passed through the Bosphorus Strait, heading for Lebanon. “Just recently, thanks to the UN in cooperation with Turkey, we had a first ship with a grain delivery, but it’s still nothing. But we hope it’s a trend that will continue,” he told the students. He said Ukraine needed to export at least 10 million tons of grain to urgently help reduce its budget deficit, which was running at $5 billion a month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seen on a screen at the Australian National University in Canberra as he hosted his online debate with the country’s 21 universities on Wednesday. (Tracey Nearmy/Australian National University/The Associated Press) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the first grain shipment but also said it was “only a first step”. A senior Turkish official said three ships could leave Ukrainian ports daily after Razoni’s departure, while Ukraine’s infrastructure minister said 17 more ships were loaded with agricultural products and waiting to depart.
War ‘Almost Kills the Economy’
Known as the breadbasket of Europe, Ukraine hopes to export 20 million tonnes of grain in silos and 40 million tonnes of the harvest now underway, initially from Odessa and nearby Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk. “The war… is almost killing the economy. It is in a coma,” Zelensky added. “The blockade of the ports by Russia is a great loss for the economy. Zelensky has repeatedly warned that Moscow may try to block exports despite the signing of the deal last month.
Schroeder says Kremlin wants ‘negotiated solution’
Russia, which blockaded Ukraine’s ports after launching what it called “a special military operation” on February 24, has said it wants more done to facilitate exports of its own grain and fertilizer. However, he welcomed the departure of the first grain ship from Ukraine as positive. He has denied responsibility for the food crisis, saying sanctions from the West, which sees the war as an unprovoked land grab by Russia, have slowed Ukraine’s exports. Exports from Ukraine, one of the world’s top grain producers, are aimed at reducing price rises and shortages, with famine looming in some parts of the world. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the grain deal could offer a way forward from the conflict. “The good news is that the Kremlin wants a negotiated solution,” Schroeder told German weekly Stern and broadcaster RTL/ntv on Wednesday, adding that he had met Putin in Moscow last week. “A first success is the grain agreement, perhaps which can be slowly extended to a ceasefire.”
Supermarket, other businesses hit Mykolaiv
Meanwhile, Russian forces continued their shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, shelling it on Tuesday night and into the early hours of Wednesday, the governor of Mykolaiv region, Vitaly Kim, said. WATCHES | People saving what’s left after the strikes in Mykolaiv:
Residents salvage what’s left after strikes in Mykolaiv, Ukraine
Explosions destroyed a supermarket and a residential building in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, leaving locals scrambling to pick through the rubble of what’s left of their homes. The city’s mayor claimed the strikes were from Russia. The bombing destroyed a wharf, an industrial plant, residential buildings, a garage cooperative, a supermarket and a pharmacy, Kim said. Mykolaiv is a southern port on the Black Sea. The Russians said in April that they wanted control not only of eastern but also of southern Ukraine, cutting off the country from the Black Sea coast and creating a potential land corridor to the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria. Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych told The Associated Press that 131 civilians, including a child, have been killed so far in the city by Russian rocket and artillery shelling, and another 590 have been seriously injured, including seven children.
