Maritime navigation websites showed that the first grain ship to leave Ukraine since the end of the grain deal with Russia arrived in Istanbul. It is the first cargo ship carrying grain and sailing in and out of the Black Sea through a “humanitarian corridor” established by Ukraine.
This road passes near Romania and Bulgaria, which are members of NATO. Because Russia does not support this corridor, the question was whether international ships would dare to use it for fear of Russian aggression. A handful of ships did this anyway.
This route appears to have become safer since Russia withdrew warships following a series of successful Ukrainian missile attacks on Russian-occupied Crimea, which is home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
According to Ukrainian officials, the ship flying the Palau flag was carrying 3,000 tons of wheat when it left the port of Chornomorsk on Tuesday. The ship is on its way to Israel.
In July, Russia withdrew from the grain deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, and allowed Ukrainian agricultural products to be exported via the Black Sea. Since then, the Russian military has been attacking Ukrainian ports to further disrupt exports.
Niels Warlow
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