Zelensky travels to oversee first grain exports since Russian invasion

Cami Mondeaux

July 29, 08:58 AM July 29, 08:58 AM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to the Odesa region to oversee the country’s first grain exports since Russia invaded in late February.

The export of grain will begin in the coming days, with much of it being taken on ships that were loaded but could not leave the port due to the war, Zelensky said. Last week, Ukraine and Russia signed separate deals with the United Nations and Turkey to continue grain exports from Black Sea ports to avert a global food crisis.

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“The first vessel, the first ship is being loaded since the beginning of the war,” Zelensky said.

The resuming of grain exports eases one of Ukraine’s and Russia’s wartime standoffs that has left millions of people at risk of hunger. It’s also the first major deal between the countries since Russia invaded.

The deal will allow for “significant” shipments of grain through three Ukrainian ports in Odesa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny, according to international leaders. It will also seek to increase shipments of Russian grain and fertilizer as part of the effort. The details of the agreement are not fully known, though diplomats have said it is expected to allow Ukrainian vessels to guide grain ships through mined port waters and would include a local truce with Russia so it does not attack the shipments in transport.

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It is also expected to include a provision allowing Turkey, with the U.N.'s backing, to inspect the ships to assuage Russian concerns about weapons shipments, according to Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also made recent trips amid the war, meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week to discuss how to restart exports of Ukrainian grain to ease the global food crisis. That meeting in Iran marks only the second known time Putin has traveled abroad since Russia invaded Ukraine.