For first time since start of war, a ship with grain left Odesa. The ship, the Razoni, which weighed anchor at the port of Odesa, was led by a government vessel through mines that had been laid by Ukrainian forces to forestall any attempt by Moscow to launch an amphibious assault on Odesa.
A rescue ship followed and Russia’s Navy, which controls the Black Sea, granted safe passage. The Razoni was carrying 26,527 metric tons of corn, the United Nations said. The vessel had been stuck in port since Feb. 18, before the start of the war.
The shipment news comes just a day after Ukraine confirmed Oleksiy Vadatursky, Ukraine grain tycoon, was killed in Russian shelling of Mykolaiv. He was killed with his wife in a “massive” Russian shelling of the southern city of Mykolaiv. They died when a missile hit their home overnight, local officials said.
Vadatursky owned Nibulon, a company involved in grain exports. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Vadatursky’s death as a great loss. Mykolaiv is on the main route to Odesa, Ukraine’s biggest port on the Black Sea, and has been hit repeatedly since Russia launched its invasion on 24 February. An adviser to President Zelensky’s office said he believed Russia had deliberately targeted the businessman. Mykhailo Podolyak said one of the missiles had hit the businessman’s bedroom, adding that this left “no doubt” it had been guided.
Related News: Russia Hits Southern Ukraine City, Killing Owner of One of the Country’s Largest Grain Exporting Companies
Is Grain Deal Still on Track?
There are 16 more ships waiting to leave Odesa in coming days. The Razoni was headed toward Istanbul, then Tripoli, Lebanon, according to Ukrainian and Turkish officials.
Ukraine’s agriculture minister, Mykola Solskyi, said last week that there was $10 billion worth of grain stored in Ukraine and that the incoming harvest would add a further $20 billion to that amount.
The shipments will follow a route to Turkish ports approved by the Russian Navy, which has demanded that the unloaded ships are inspected before they return to Ukraine to ensure they carry no weapons. Teams from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the U.N. will jointly carry out the inspections, and a joint command center set up in Istanbul is to monitor the movement of grain. The agreement will last 120 days, but it could be renewed on a rolling basis.
The World Food Program is also planning to purchase, load and ship an initial 30,000 tons of wheat out of Ukraine on a U.N.-chartered vessel, with more details expected in the coming days, the U.N. said.
Ukraine expects to reach full throughput capacity for transporting agricultural goods within weeks.
Zelenskyy said that the country’s typical harvest could be cut in half this year.
