A grain shipment has left the port of Odesa for the first time in months, in a crucial test of a deal between Russia and Ukraine intended to alleviate soaring global food prices.
The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni, carrying 26,000 tonnes of Ukrainian corn, left the Black Sea Port at 9:48am local time, the ministry of infrastructure said, after weeks of negotiations brokered by Turkey and the UN.
It is the first such vessel to depart from Odesa since late February, when Russia invaded Ukraine, sparking off a conflict that has left as many as 47mn people globally at risk of acute hunger, according to the World Food Programme. The Ukrainian government said another 16 ships were awaiting departure.