Live: First Ukrainian grain shipment leaves Odesa under UN-backed export deal
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Issued on: 01/08/2022 – 06:50Modified: 01/08/2022 – 08:49
The first shipment of Ukrainian grain left the port of Odesa on Monday morning, Turkey said, following Ukraine and Russia’s signing last month of a landmark deal with Turkey and the UN aimed at restarting grain exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. Follow FRANCE 24’s live blog for the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
8:45am: First ship carrying Ukrainian grain has left port of Odesa, Turkey says
The first shipment of Ukrainian grain left the port of Odesa on Monday, the Turkish defence ministry said, under a deal aimed at relieving a global food crisis following Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.
“The ship Razoni has left the port of Odesa bound for Tripoli in Lebanon. It is expected in Istanbul on August 2. It will then continue its journey after it has been inspected in Istanbul,” the ministry said.
Ukraine said the vessel was carrying 26,000 tonnes of corn. It also underwent an inspection in Istanbul before continuing to Lebanon’s Tripoli, a UN-led monitoring centre said on Monday.
The Sierra Leone-flagged ship Razoni is expected to arrive at the inspection in Turkish waters on August 2, the Istanbul-based Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) said, adding it had requested all parties to inform militaries to ensure its safe passage.
The JCC – which includes United Nations, Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish officials – had verified the Odesa port’s readiness, as well as the vessel’s capability to depart ahead of the authorisation, it said.
6:09am: First grain ship could leave Ukraine on Monday, Turkey says
The possibility of the first grain-exporting ship leaving Ukraine’s ports on Monday is high, a spokesperson for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.
Speaking in an interview with broadcaster Kanal 7, Ibrahim Kalin said the Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul will probably complete the final work on the exporting routes very soon.
“If all (details) are completed by tomorrow, it seems like there is a high possibility that the first ship will leave the port tomorrow … We will see ships leaving the ports the next day at the latest,” Kalin said.
5:57am: Zelensky condemns ‘brutal’ Russian shelling of Mykolaiv
“Today, one of the most brutal shellings of Mykolaiv and the region over the entire period of the full-scale war took place. Dozens of missiles and rockets,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address.
“I want to thank every resident of Mykolaiv for their indomitability.”
Ukrainian agricultural magnate Oleksiy Vadatursky, 74, and his wife Raisa were killed when a missile struck their house, authorities said.
Vadatursky owned major grain exporter Nibulon and was previously decorated with the prestigious “Hero of Ukraine” award.
Zelensky offered condolences and paid tribute to Vadatursky in his Sunday address.
3:21am: Sunday shelling spans from Black Sea to Ukraine’s northern border
Besides Mykolaiv, Russian forces shelled the Sumy region’s northern border seven times on Sunday, with more than 90 individual strikes, Sumy Governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky said on his Telegram channel. A farm was damaged and 25 hectares (61.8 acres) of wheatfields were destroyed, he said.
Up to 50 Grad rockets hit residential areas in the southern city of Nikopol on Sunday morning, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram. One person was wounded.
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and REUTERS)