(Kyiv) A ship loaded with wheat left a Ukrainian port bound for Egypt, Ukrainian authorities announced Friday, stressing that this is the second time this week that a boat has used a maritime corridor set up by Kyiv to circumvent the Russian blockade and threats.
“The vessel “Aroyat” left the port of Chornomorsk loaded with 17,600 tons of Ukrainian wheat bound for Egypt,” Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on X.
A first ship loaded with wheat had already left this same port without incident on September 19, while Ukraine wants to establish safe sea routes for its agricultural production, Moscow having slammed the door on an agreement allowing export by the Black Sea of Ukrainian agricultural products, essential for the country’s economy and global food security.
These maritime corridors, running along the coasts of allied countries to the Bosphorus, defy Russian threats to sink ships entering and leaving Ukrainian ports.
Russia has not attacked these corridors, but it regularly bombs grain facilities at Ukrainian ports.
Kyiv wants to establish supply routes to Africa, which greatly needs Ukrainian production, and counter Russian influence there, while Vladimir Putin promised certain African states this summer to deliver wheat to them free of charge.
Russia and Ukraine are two major agricultural powers whose production is crucial for global food security. Russia’s invasion of its neighbor and international sanctions against Moscow have destabilized global supplies and markets.
The Ukrainian armed forces have also been striving for several weeks to counter Russia’s military control over the Black Sea, in particular by attacking Crimea, the seat of the Russian fleet in this area and the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Air and sea drone attacks and missile strikes have increased, particularly towards Sevastopol, the base of the Russian fleet. A shipyard there was attacked last week, and Kyiv claimed responsibility for the destruction of military ships.
On Friday, Russian authorities announced without explanation that all passenger maritime transport was suspended sine die, until further notice, from Sevastopol.
Later, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have foiled a Ukrainian attack by destroying a guided missile and two drones targeting Crimea.
