Three more ships with grain leave Ukraine: Ankara

ANKARA

Three more ships have left Ukrainian ports under the Istanbul grain export deal, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said on Aug. 27. 

Shipments from Ukrainian ports are continuing, said ministry a statement, adding: "Three more ships loaded with grain departed from Ukrainian ports this morning."

On July 22, Türkiye, the U.N., Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal in Istanbul to reopen three Ukrainian ports for the export of Ukraine grain, which had been stuck for months due to the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its sixth month.

Around 20 million tons of grain are stuck in Ukraine as a result of the blockade imposed by Russia on Ukrainian ports after the start of the war on Feb. 24.

To oversee Ukrainian grain exports, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul was officially launched on July 27, comprising representatives from the three countries and the U.N. to enable safe transportation by merchant ships of commercial foodstuffs and fertilizers.

The deal aims to create safe Black Sea shipping corridors to export Ukraine’s desperately needed agricultural products. Checks on ships by inspectors seek to ensure that outbound cargo ships carry only grain, fertilizer, or food and not any other commodities and that inbound ships are not carrying weapons.