Zelenskiy: Ukraine to aid farmers hit by Russian port attacks

Recent weeks have seen Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, and Ukraine, a major agricultural exporter, targeting each other's agricultural export facilities and commercial vessels in the Black Sea. The governor of Ukraine's Odesa Region, Oleh Kiper, reported that a Russian attack damaged a foreign-flagged ship loaded with wheat, resulting in one crew member's death and a fire. Ukraine's seaports authority identified the vessel as sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau.

Ukraine had established a Black Sea corridor for safe passage of shipping towards Romania, but vessels have recently come under attack in the area. Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi indicated that alternative grain export routes might reach their required capacity by the end of August at the earliest, but these would only cover half of the volumes previously handled by the Black Sea ports disrupted by Russian attacks. Russia's main grain lobby group had previously warned that drone strikes on Russian ships and ports could lead to a shutdown of grain exports via the Black Sea, potentially increasing prices and causing hunger in Africa and the Middle East.