ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine—A third shipment of food products left Ukrainian ports Sunday, as explosions near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant raised the specter of the war unleashing a nuclear catastrophe.
A convoy of four ships, carrying more than 161,000 metric tons of corn, sunflower oil and other goods, departed ports in Odessa on Sunday morning, according to Ukrainian authorities. It was the second multi-ship convoy to leave Ukraine in three days under a United Nations-backed agreement with Russia, which is aimed at alleviating a global hunger crisis amid a surge in global food prices caused in part by Russia’s assault on Ukraine.
The war trapped millions of tons of grain and other food products in the country. The agreement signed last month was the result of months of negotiations brokered by Turkey and the U.N.
Eight ships in total have now departed Odessa’s ports this month under the agreement in what the U.N. says is proof the agreement can actually work.
In a sign that the shipments may be able to continue, the first inbound ship to sail to Ukraine under the agreement arrived in Odessa, according to Ukrainian officials and ship tracking data.
“Our next step is to ensure the ability of [Ukrainian] ports to handle more than 100 vessels a month,” tweeted Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister
Oleksandr Kubrakov,
who signed the agreement last month.
An elderly woman looks out from her apartment in eastern Ukraine.
Photo:
David Goldman/Associated Press
Food in the shipments is vital for recipient countries including Lebanon, while revenue from the exports is crucial for Ukraine’s struggling economy. Russia, meanwhile, faces falling export revenues due to sanctions and restrictions on its currency.
Data published by Russia’s Ministry of Finance last week show revenues from oil and gas, which Russia has been using to fund its military campaign in Ukraine, more than halved in July compared with April, dropping from 1,797.7 billion rubles to 770.5 billion…
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