Plan to ship grain out of Ukraine dealt blow due to mines

A plan mediated by Turkey amid a global food crisis to open shipping corridors out of Ukrainian ports has been dealt a blow as officials in Kyiv said it would take six months to clear the coast of Russian and Ukrainian mines.

Ships leaving Ukrainian ports would be escorted by Turkish naval vessels under the proposal being discussed.

According to the UN, Russia and Ukraine supply about 40% of the wheat consumed in Africa, where prices have already risen by about 23%.

Kachka said Ukraine was already investing in extra grain storage facilities on its border with Poland, in the northern Volyn region and in the western Lviv region, and working on extending Ukrainian railway tracks into Poland, and vice versa, at several border crossings.

Turkey has offered Ukraine help to de-mine the coastal area but the government in Kyiv has not only warned of the scale of the task but is concerned that it could leave Odesa, among other key ports, open to attack.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, president of Ukraine, said in an interview with the Financial Times that while he supported the Turkish initiative, he would need assurances that Russian vessels would not be allowed to use the safe corridors.