Ukraine war: What you need to know this Tuesday

Ukraine's president said on Monday it was "too early" to rejoice after Ukrainian grain shipments resumed from the port of Odesa. 

“At this time it is too early to draw conclusions and make any predictions,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily video address. "Let's wait to see how the agreement will work and if security will really be guaranteed."

The departure of the first Ukrainian ship carrying much-needed from Odesa since the start of the Russian blockade of Black Sea ports five months ago has been widely welcomed.

Loaded with 26,000 tons of corn, the ship is bound for the port of Tripoli in Lebanon, as per the deal signed between the warring parties aimed at alleviating the looming global food crisis.

Governments in Kyiv and Moscow praised the development as a positive move, while the European Union, the United Nations and NATO also expressed approval and relief.

Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry said that 16 more ships, all blocked since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, were awaiting their turn in Odesa.

Infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said Ukraine is the fourth-largest corn exporter in the world, “so the possibility of exporting it via ports is a colossal success in ensuring global food security".

He added that the shipments would also help Ukraine’s war-shattered economy. “Unlocking ports will provide at least $1 billion (€970 million) in foreign exchange revenue to the economy and an opportunity for the agricultural sector to plan for next year,” Kubrakov said.

An agreement, signed in July after being brokered by Turkey with UN support, allows the resumption of Ukrainian exports — blocked since the start of the Russian invasion — under international supervision.

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