The first UN-chartered humanitarian ship to carry Ukrainian grain left the port of Pivdenny in southern Ukraine on Tuesday with some 23,000 tons for Africa, Ukraine's infrastructure ministry said.
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“The Brave Commander ship with grain for Africa has left the port of Pivdenny.
This morning, the cargo ship left for the port of Djibouti, where the food will be delivered upon arrival to consumers in Ethiopia,” the ministry said on Telegram.
According to him, “23,000 tonnes of wheat are on board this ship chartered by the United Nations World Food Programme”.
Present at the port of Pivdenny on Sunday, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said he hoped that "two or three" additional ships chartered by the UN could leave soon.
First UN humanitarian shipment
This is the first shipment of food aid to leave Ukraine since agreements were signed in July by kyiv and Moscow, via Turkish mediation and under the aegis of the UN, on the export of Ukrainian cereals, blocked because of the war between the two countries.
The first commercial ship left on August 1, and more than 15 ships in total have left Ukraine since the agreement entered into force, according to the count of the Ukrainian authorities, but no humanitarian cargo from the UN had not yet taken to the sea. Ukraine and Russia are among the world's largest exporters of cereals, which have experienced a surge in prices since the beginning of the war.
According to the World Food Programme, a record 345 million people in 82 countries now face acute food insecurity, while up to 50 million people in 45 countries are at risk of starvation without humanitarian assistance.
