Ukraine to begin grain export following agreement with Russia
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Three ports in Ukraine will begin to export grain shortly, and Russia argues that targeting the military part of Odessa port does not cause an impediment to grain export given the distance between the military and civilian parts of the port.
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Port of Odessa, Ukraine
Yurii Vaskov, Ukraine's deputy minister of infrastructure, stated on Monday that the nation anticipates beginning grain exports within a week, adding that the Chornomorsk port will restart operations first.
"Within a week we hope the first shipment will be carried out," Vaskov told a briefing, adding that beginning with Chornomosk, all three ports would restart operations in the next two weeks.
On July 22, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, and Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov signed a grain deal mediated by the United Nations in Istanbul.
The grain deal has been signed
A senior UN official told a briefing before the signing of the deal that "The Secretary-General is the witness of the Black Sea initiative, we expect to see the defense minister of the Russian Federation, defense minister of Turkey, and the infrastructure minister of Ukraine are signing the deal."
The Ukrainian side will have control over the ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny, from which grain exports will be organized, according to the agreements. Aside from that, no ships other than those exporting grain and related food products and fertilizers will be permitted to dock at these ports.
Odessa port allegedly under fire
On July 23rd, a day after the grain agreement was signed, the port of Odessa was targeted. However, it was highlighted that the attack was from the Russian naval forces that destroyed a docked Ukrainian warship and a warehouse of US-supplied Harpoon missiles in the port of Odessa on Sunday, July 24, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
In a statement, the ministry said, "In the port of Odessa, on the territory of a ship repair plant, high-precision long-range sea-based missiles destroyed a docked Ukrainian warship and a warehouse of anti-ship Harpoon missiles delivered by the United States to Kiev."
The Russian forces also disabled the plant's production facilities for warship repair and modernization, according to the statement.
Last month, the US announced a $1 billion defense package for Ukraine, which included Harpoon missile launchers, howitzers, and ammunition for high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), according to Politico.
Russia says no obstacles to the export of Grain
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that there are no impediments to the export of Grain from the Odessa port.
"Experts confirmed what we have been talking about from the very beginning, that the grain terminal of the Odessa port is located at a considerable distance from the military unit, there are no obstacles for grain to be delivered to customers, in accordance with the agreements signed in Istanbulб and we did not create them," Lavrov told reporters during his visit to the Republic of the Congo.
A battle boat from the Ukrainian navy forces and an ammo stockpile were the objectives of the recent attack on military targets in the Odessa port, according to the minister. These facilities are located in a different section of the port, the so-called military area.
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