On 26 September, another cargo vessel set off from a Ukrainian Black Sea port after loading but remained close to the port, an industry source told Reuters “without giving any further details.”
The ship was the most recent one to depart from Ukrainian sea ports after Kyiv opened a temporary “humanitarian corridor” along the Black Sea coastline in response to Russia’s decision to withdraw from the UN and Türkiye-brokered “grain deal” that had previously ensured the safe export of Ukrainian goods amid the ongoing Russian maritime blockade of Ukrainian ports.
Ukraine’s Deputy PM Oleksandr Kubrakov said last week that three cargo ships were heading towards Ukrainian Black Sea ports for further food and steel exports.
From the outset of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia established a de-facto blockade of all Ukrainian seaports. For a year starting from July 2022, Ukraine continued grain exports from its ports under the grain deal until Russia quit the deal and re-established the blockade.
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