The first grain freighter on behalf of the United Nations left the southern Ukrainian port of Pivdennyj today with wheat for Africa. This was announced by the governor of the Odessa region, Maxim Marchenko, on Telegram. The UN’s World Food Program (WFP) has chartered the freighter “Brave Commander”. The cargo of 23,000 tons of wheat is destined for Ethiopia, according to the UN.
At the end of July, the UN and Turkey mediated agreements that Ukraine might once more export grain via its Black Sea ports, despite the Russian war of aggression. Since the beginning of August, more than a dozen freighters have transported Ukrainian grain.
However, the first transports were commercial. The UN fears food shortages and hunger in poor parts of the world if Ukraine fails as a major grain supplier. The ships and their cargo are checked each time they pass through the Turkish Bosphorus Straits.
