• The ship Navi-Star carrying a load of corn starts its way from the port in Odesa, Ukraine, Friday, Aug. 5, 2022 (AP Photo/Nina Lyashonok)

Six cargo ships loaded with grain have left ports in Ukraine following the renewal of the Istanbul grain deal, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Thursday. 

"After the resumption of the grain initiative, six ships left the Ukrainian ports. Thus, the number of ships leaving the ports amounted to 426, and the amount of grain transported exceeded 9.7 million tonnes," Akar said. 

The Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure also reported that seven ships left Ukrainian ports earlier on in the day.
 
"On November 3, seven ships carrying 290,000 tons of Ukrainian agricultural products left the ports of Odessa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhne for Asian and European countries," the ministry said on its social media. 

In a meeting with permanent members of the security council on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Russian Defense Ministry was instructed to resume its engagement in the grain deal.

Yet, Russia remains cautious, threatening to withdraw its commitments if Kiev breaches the guarantees it provided earlier in the day about the non-use of the grain corridors for military purposes.

The Russian President further added that Russia would not obstruct the flow of grain from Ukraine to Turkey in the future due to Ankara's neutrality and the capabilities of its grain processing industry. 

On October 29, Russia announced it had suspended the UN-brokered grain deal after Kiev waged drone attacks on Russian ships in Crimea's Sevastopol. 

A total of 218 ships that were intended to export grains have been reported to remain stuck on October 30 as a result of that suspension. 

On October 31, Russia demanded Ukraine provide it with "commitments" not to use the grain exports corridor for military purposes.

After Putin stated he had obtained the aforementioned guarantees from Ukraine, the Russian President announced that he instructed the Ministry of Defense to resume the grain deal operations.

This comes after Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced yesterday that it prevented an act of sabotage by the Ukrainian special services at an energy infrastructure facility in Crimea.

"A sabotage planned by the Ukrainian special services at an energy infrastructure facility in the Republic of Crimea was prevented. As a result of a complex of operational and search measures, a citizen of Ukraine was detained," the FSB said in a statement.