Ukraine President Zelenskyy hits back at putin's claims of grain corridors' wrongs
Photo by: Пресслужба глави держави / Presidential Office
"Grain corridor" for Ukrainian agri-food products has already provided for the passage of 102 ships to Asia, Africa and Europe. 54 vessels with 1.04 mln t of grain onboard were sent to Asian countries, 32 vessels with 0.85 mln t to Europe, and 16 vessels with 0.47 mln t to Africa, announced President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a regular video address.
The head of state stressed that Ukrainian food was exported to three continents — Africa, Asia and Europe. He called yesterday's russia president's accusations "blatant lies" alleging that the bulk of Ukraine's grain is exported to European countries.
"Unlike russia, we do not make a racist division of the world into those who deserve to live without hunger and those who do not. We support all peoples, all countries. Both those who help us and those who refrain from helping us so far. I repeat: Ukraine was, is and will be a guarantor of global food security," he stressed.
Zelenskyy noted that by the end of this month, at least 3 mln t of agricultural products can be exported from Ukrainian seaports. And a significant part of it is for the poorest and most needy countries.
In an effort to assist the population of Africa, two ships chartered by the UN World Food Program (WFP) have already been sent. They carry more than 60,000 t of wheat for the people of Yemen and Ethiopia.
"Furthermore, with the assistance of partners from the UN, another 190 thou. t of grain has already been purchased for further export to the states of the African continent. In the framework of the WFP, 280 thou. t of agricultural products to fight hunger will be exported from Ukrainian ports in the near future," the Ministry of Infrastructure said in a statement.
The ministry stressed that the initiative signed by Ukraine, the UN and Turkey on the safe transportation of grain and foodstuffs does not provide any restrictions on the geography of exports.
For context, the president of russia putin announced that the grain deal calls for a review.
