Ukraine is setting up a temporary shipping route to export grain via the Black Sea after Russia quit the Grain Deal. The announcement was made in a letter submitted to the UN shipping agency, according to Reuters and The Guardian.
The goal of the solution is to facilitate the unblocking of international shipping in the north-western part of the Black Sea. The route will lead to the territorial waters and exclusive maritime economic zone of Romania, Vasyl Shkurakov, Ukraine’s acting minister for communities, territories, and infrastructure development, said.
Earlier, we reported that on July 17, Russian officials declared that the Grain Deal had been terminated. It has enabled the safe exportation of around 30 million tons of grain since it was signed in July 2022. This helped lower global food prices, which surged to record highs after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On July 19, overnight, the Russian army shelled several ports in the Odesa region and destroyed 60,000 tons of Ukrainian grain. The Russian ministry of defense threatens that after midnight it will attack any vessels sailing over the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports. The ultimatum comes into effect on July 19, at 11:00 p.m. Kyiv time.
Ukraine can still resort to using Danube shipping as an alternative to the Grain Deal. During the first half of 2023, Danube ports located on the Ukrainian bank reloaded more than 14 tons of cargo. Ukrainian grain is also transported to Europe by rail.
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