First ship with grain leaves port in Ukraine

Shipments had been blocked since start of war; hope that delivery can stave off food crisis

KYIV, Ukraine — The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain set out Monday from the port of Odesa under an internationally brokered deal to unblock the embattled country’s agricultural exports and ease the growing global food crisis.

The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni sounded its horn as it departed with over 26,000 tons of corn destined for Lebanon.

“The first grain ship since Russian aggression has left port,” Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov declared on Twitter.

Russia and Ukraine signed agreements in Istanbul with Turkey and the U.N. on July 22, clearing the way for Ukraine to export 22 million tons of grain and other agricultural products that have been stuck in Black Sea ports because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than five months ago. The deals also allow Russia to export grain and fertilizer.

As part of the agreements, safe corridors through the mined waters outside Ukraine’s ports were established.

Ukraine and Russia are major global suppliers of wheat, barley, corn and sunflower oil, with the fertile Black Sea region long known as the breadbasket of Europe. The holdup of shipments because of the war has worsened rising food prices worldwide and threatened hunger and political instability in developing nations.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sounded a cautious note. Calling the shipment “the first positive signal that there is a chance to stop the spread of a food crisis in the world,” he also urged international partners to closely monitor Moscow’s compliance with the deal.

“We cannot have the illusions that Russia will simply refrain from trying to disrupt Ukrainian exports,” Zelenskyy said.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hailed the ship’s departure as “very positive,” saying it would help test the “efficiency of the mechanisms that were agreed to during the talks in Istanbul.”

Under the agreements, ships going in and out of Ukrainian ports will be subject to inspection to make sure that incoming vessels are not carrying weapons and that outgoing ones are bearing only grain, fertilizer or related food items, not any other commodities.