Kyiv [Ukraine], August 10 : The Ukrainian navy has announced temporary corridors for civilian shipping in the Black Sea after Russia withdrew from the 'Grain Initiative' arrangement last month, CNN reported.
The Ukrainian navy issued an order declaring "temporary corridors for merchant ships sailing to/from Ukrainian ports."
"At the same time, it is reported that the military threat and mine danger from the Russian Federation remains along all routes," it said.
After Russia withdrew from the arrangements made for the Black Sea, the merchant ships stopped travelling to and from the Ukrainian port of Odesa or neighbouring harbours, crippling the export of grain from those ports.
The last ship with grain on board left Odesa on July 16, reported CNN.
It's unclear whether the Ukrainian order will have much impact on the willingness of merchant shipping to travel much beyond the Danube ports in the western Black Sea.
The Ukrainian navy said the routes it had announced "will primarily be used to allow civilian vessels that have been in the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhnyi since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, to leave."
Earlier, Russia withdrew from the agreement that had permitted Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports a year ago, despite the war, to help alleviate a global food crisis.
In July 2022, Turkey and the UN began talks on the Black Sea Grain Initiative, according to CNN.
On July 17, 2023, Russia announced that it was suspending its participation in a UN-brokered deal that allowed the export of Ukrainian grain.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced Moscow will not renew the agreement, saying it "has been terminated." The deal had allowed Ukraine to export grain by sea, as per the CNN report.
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