The ship, which arrived at the port near Odessa, will sail to Ethiopia via a grain corridor through the Black Sea brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in late July. It will be the first shipment of humanitarian food aid bound for Africa since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 as part of the Black Sea Grains Initiative. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Denise Brown, the UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine, told reporters that grain is urgently needed in Ethiopia and the United Nations will work to ensure continued shipments to countries around Africa facing famine and sharply higher food prices. “On a very, very personal note, for any mothers who might be listening, to see hunger in a child is very painful. Hunger, malnutrition is physically very, very painful,” said Brown, who previously in the Central African Republic. reporter. “It’s up to all of us to help these kids.” The shipment was funded by donations from the United Nations World Food Program, the US Agency for International Development and several private donors. “The world needs Ukraine’s food. This is the beginning of what we hope will be normal operations for the hungry people of the world,” Marianne Ward, deputy country director of the World Food Programme, told reporters. The aid agency bought more than 800,000 tonnes of grain in Ukraine last year. Ukrainian authorities have not released details of when the Brave Commander will set sail or arrive in Ethiopia, citing security concerns. The Lebanese-flagged bulk carrier Brave Commander arrives at Pivdennyi seaport after resuming grain exports amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Ukraine’s Odesa region, August 12, 2022. REUTERS/Serhii Smolientsev read more A total of 16 ships have now left Ukraine, according to authorities there, following an agreement with Russia to allow grain exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports to resume after being halted for five months due to the war. “We see this … in a very positive way. We are optimistic,” Brown told Reuters in a separate interview. The agreement was reached last month amid fears that the loss of Ukraine’s grain reserves would lead to severe food shortages and even an outbreak of famine in parts of the world. The first ship to depart Ukraine under the deal, the Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni, was approaching the Syrian port of Tartous on Sunday, two shipping sources said. read more Brown said authorities are considering using rail to increase grain shipments, and Ukraine’s agriculture ministry also plans to open a new truck route to Poland. Ukraine has about 20 million tons of grain left over from last year’s harvest, while this year’s wheat harvest is also estimated at 20 million tons. So far, most of the cargoes under the deal have carried grain for animal feed or fuel. As part of the UN agreement, all ships are inspected in Istanbul by the Joint Coordination Centre, where staff from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN work. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Andrea Shalal. Edited by Michael Perry, Kirsten Donovan Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
