Ukraine expects first grain exports "this week", following the agreement concluded last Friday between Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the UN.
This was announced by a minister from Kiev.
Ukraine said it expects to resume its first grain exports since the start of the war "already this week", after signing an agreement with Moscow and despite the Russian army's bombing of the main port of Odessa last Saturday.
"We expect the agreement to start working in the next few days and that a coordination center will be established in Istanbul in the next few days. We are preparing everything to start already this week," Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandre Kubrakov said at a press conference. .
The minister said the main obstacle to the resumption of exports is the risk of Russian bombing, as demonstrated by the attack on the port of Odessa, of vital importance on the Black Sea.
Kubrakov called on the guarantors of the agreement, Turkey and the United Nations, to guarantee the safety of Ukrainian convoys.
"If the parties don't guarantee safety, it won't work," he warned.
Exports are also hampered by the presence of sea mines, laid by Ukrainian forces to defend against a Russian amphibious assault.
According to the minister, demining will only take place "in the corridor necessary for exports".
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mine clearance will only take place "in the corridor needed for exports".
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mine clearance will only take place "in the corridor needed for exports".
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and Ukrainian ships will accompany the convoys, which will be able to transport not only grain but also fertilizers, he added.
Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Yuri Vaskov said the southwestern port of Chornomorsk will be the first to operate for exports, followed by the southern port of Odessa and the southwestern port of Pivdenny.
"In the next two weeks we will be technically ready to export grain from all Ukrainian ports," he said.
Moscow has accused 92 members of the Ukrainian armed forces of crimes against humanity
and has proposed an international tribunal supported by countries such as Bolivia, Iran and Syria.
This was stated by the head of the Russian investigative commission, writes the BBC online.
Alexander Bastrykin told the government website Rossiiskaya Gazeta that more than 1,300 criminal investigations have been launched.
Ukrainians have been involved in "crimes against the peace and security of humanity, which do not go on prescription," he said.
Bastrykin added that 92 commanders and their subordinates have been indicted while 96 people, including 51 military commanders, are currently wanted.
The BBC was unable to verify the information contained in the interview, while Kiev did not comment on it.
Bastrykin then accused the West of openly sponsoring "Ukrainian nationalism", for which a UN-backed trial "is extremely dubious".
He then proposed to establish an international tribunal with countries that have "an independent position on the Ukrainian question", in particular Syria, Iran and Bolivia.
Ukraine is also conducting its own investigations and has already stated that it is investigating 21,000 war and aggression crimes allegedly committed by Russian forces since the invasion began last February.
Russia will maintain its commitments on the export of agricultural products, regardless of whether or not the restrictions applied to Moscow are lifted
.
This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov
in talks in Cairo, adding that "We have no prejudices regarding a resumption of talks with Kiev on a wide spectrum of issues that go beyond wheat, it depends on the Ukrainians".
The Russian and Turkish navies will ensure the safety of grain ships in the Black Sea, explained Lavrov, who also launched
yet another lunge against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
: "Moscow will help the Ukrainian people get rid of the anti-people and anti-historical regime in Kiev," he said.
"We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, who deserve a better life. We are sorry that Ukrainian history is being ruined before our eyes and we are sorry for those who have succumbed to the state propaganda of the Kiev regime and for those who support this regime, who wants Ukraine to be Russia's eternal enemy, "Lavrov said.
"The Russian and Ukrainian peoples will continue to live together. We will help the Ukrainian people to get rid of the absolutely anti-popular and anti-historical regime," promised the head of Moscow diplomacy.
The West must remove the obstacles it has placed on Russian food and fertilizer exports
if it is to resolve the food crisis, Lavrov also said at the end of talks with his Egyptian counterpart.
"As far as food is concerned, our
Western colleagues are very concerned about this situation. They have to remove the obstacles they have created themselves," Lavrov explained, stressing that, even if no sanctions have been imposed on Russian food and fertilizers , "sanctions have been imposed on companies that insure food supplies, against companies that insure payments for food."
Also Lavrov explained that it
will be a third party to ensure the safety of the ships
carrying Ukrainian wheat along with Russia and Turkey.
"We managed to reach an agreement in Istanbul: Ukraine will mine the ports and let the ships go to sea, while Russia, Turkey and another party, to be determined later, will escort the ships to the Bosphorus," he said. declared the Russian minister.
Meanwhile Kiev assures that "technical preparations will continue to start exports of agricultural products from our ports" despite the attacks.
This was said on Facebook by Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister
Oleksandr Kubrakov
, who on Friday signed the agreements in Istanbul for the unblocking of grain from Ukrainian ports.
In the Russian raid on the port of Odessa "a Ukrainian warship and a US-supplied Harpoon missile depot in Kiev were destroyed". This was stated by the Moscow Ministry of Defense, which admits the attack.
According to the spokesman, the long-range missiles hit "a shipyard" in the port and the production capacity of the Ukrainian Navy's ship repair and modernization facility was put out of service.
Previously, Russia had denied through the Turkish government that it had carried out an attack on the port, which is crucial for the agreement on the export of Ukrainian wheat signed a few days ago in Istanbul.
Russian rocket launch
