Ukraine: Guterres welcomes departure of first grain ship, to help ease food crisis

The UN Children’s Fund UNICEF, delivered supplies on Tuesday to help an estimated 50,000 children in the war-ravaged districts of Odesa, the crucial Black Sea port which Russia bombed on Saturday, just hours after signing a landmark deal to allow Ukrainian grain to reach millions of food insecure people across the world.

The first, eagerly-awaited commercial shipment of grain to leave the Ukrainian port of Odesa since Russia’s invasion more than five months ago, was cleared to proceed to Lebanon on Wednesday, after a scheduled inspection stopover in Istanbul.

For almost a year, the UN-brokered Black Sea Initiative agreed by Russia, Türkiye, and Ukraine has allowed millions of tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs to leave Ukraine’s ports, playing an “indispensable role” in global food security, according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.