The the first ship sailed on Monday as part of a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that will allow safe passage for Ukrainian ships traveling through the Black Sea.
Until then, the Russian blockade severely restricted movement there, preventing millions of tons of grain and other exports from leaving the country. Ukraine is one of the largest exporters of grain and war triggered a global food crisis.
While Goncharenko says Ukraine’s renewed ability to export will help both Ukraine and other countries, he believes more help is needed to protect the supply chain. Goncharenko spoke with As It Happens guest host Paul Hunter. Here is part of that conversation.
Ukraine’s infrastructure minister posted a video on Twitter today of the ship blowing its horn as it left port. How was that for you? I understand you were there watching.
Yes, I was there and saw that. And it was a great moment, not only for Ukraine, but for the whole world, because this is the day of at least the partial liberation of the Black Sea from this barbaric blockade of Putin, which has full consequences for the whole planet. the food crisis, causing food prices to peak around the world, millions of people starving, new waves of immigrants and refugees, social unrest, hunger strikes.
So everything that Putin wants to see in the world, unfortunately, he could achieve through this blockade. And ultimately, this blockade failed. And the first ship [since] February 24 departed from the port of Odessa.
What was the mood around you? Was it festive? Because of course the war continues.
The war continues. And I can tell you that this news and this event is even more important for the world than for Ukraine. But a lot of people were definitely happy to see it [it].
The Sierra Leonean-flagged cargo ship Razoni carrying Ukrainian grain leaves port in Odesa, Ukraine, August 1, 2022, in this screen shot from a handout video. (Oleksandr Kubrakov/Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine/Reuters)
It’s also a sign of yet another Putin failure. He tried to annex and occupy Kyiv. He failed. He tried to take Odessa, the largest city on the Black Sea, my hometown, and [the] district that I represent in parliament. And it failed.
So even from that point of view, this is important.
How important is it for Ukraine to restore these missions?
It’s important because certainly for us in this war of attrition, which we already have unfortunately in Ukraine… every dollar counts. And we are talking about probably billions of dollars in the Ukrainian economy. It also means that Ukrainian farmers will have financial resources to make seeds in autumn.
And this means that Ukraine will be safe next year for everyone in terms of food. And not only Ukraine, but again we will export grain to the world because Ukraine is a bread basket not only of Europe as said before, but also of the whole world as we see today.
So in all these respects, surely this is important. But I would also like to tell you that we have to be very, very careful, because Putin will not stop trying to disrupt this agreement, to destroy this corridor, to prevent Ukrainian grain from reaching the world food market, as he has when Even before the ink was dry on the agreement, he attacked Odessa with missiles and the ports of Odessa with missiles. So a clear breach of agreement. So he will definitely continue such attacks. And so we have to be very, very careful.
And yet the Kremlin described the ship’s departure as very positive. I wonder what this is about Russia?
Oh, what would you like them to say. That this is their failure and they are very unhappy? They’ll never say it, they’ll never admit it, but they’re definitely very unhappy and they definitely don’t like it. So you should be absolutely sure about it.
WATCHES | Ukrainian tugboat honks as ship leaves Odessa:
Ukrainian grain ship leaves Odessa for the first time since the start of the war
A ship carrying Ukrainian grain has left the port of Odessa for the first time since the Russian invasion began on February 24. This follows a landmark agreement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that allows safe passage of grain shipments through the Black Sea. It is hoped that the agreement will ease the global food crisis and lower the price of grain. Authorities in your country say there are 16 more ships with supplies ready to go. But again the war continues. Farmers are struggling. Harvest levels are lower than they were in the past. How much relief do you think this agreement can really bring to the food crisis, especially in Africa? It gives relief. It is very important from a psychological point of view, that there is an answer, that it is not a complete exclusion. Speaking of numbers, the deal is for four months, for now. Our calculations show that we cannot take out more than three million tons because there are some restrictions in this agreement, for example, that ships can only move during the day in this area. So we can’t do five million [tonnes] as it was before the invasion. So probably three. And Putin will do everything he can to get 2.5 or two million tons. It will give relief. But it’s not a complete answer, for sure. But something is better than nothing. The full answer is that Putin understands only one language, the language of power. So if NATO warships are in the Black Sea, that will be the end of this Putin blackmail. Because in fact, after the Ukrainian military destroyed part of its fleet in the Black Sea, after the liberation of Snake Island in the Black Sea. In fact, it is not capable of holding the blockade of warships. So this will be the best option. But unfortunately for now, the West is not ready for such steps. The deal expires in four months. What happens then? Nobody knows. Short answer. Yes, short and to the point. We are ready to continue the deal. We are ready to resume missions. But who can say what it will be in four months?
