Zelensky: ‘Too Soon’ to Celebrate Resumption of Grain Shipments

Bulk carrier M/V Razoni, carrying a cargo of 26,000 tons of corn, leaves Ukraine’s port of Odesa, en route to Tripoli in Lebanon, on August 1, 2022, amid Russia's military invasion launched on Ukraine. © Oleksandr Gimanov, AFP

The first shipment of Ukrainian grain since the Russian invasion in February left the port of Odesa on Monday under a landmark deal to lift Moscow’s naval blockade in the Black Sea.

It noted that the departure of the Razoni cargo ship would bring “relief for the world” – if Moscow respected its side of the accord – but President Volodymyr Zelensky cautioned it was too soon to celebrate.