UN: Ukraine's Establishment of Shipping Channel for Exports is a Positive Step

A senior official at the United Nations stated on Wednesday that Ukraine's move to create a shipping channel for its grain exports is a positive step for global food security, despite ongoing efforts to reach a broader new agreement on a grain corridor via the Black Sea. Russia withdrew in July from a UN-brokered deal that facilitated the shipment of exports from three Ukrainian ports. Since then, Kyiv has launched what it describes as a temporary humanitarian corridor in efforts to break Russia's effective blockade. In recent days, two ships have sailed from the port of Chornomorsk via the channel near the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria. Rebecca Greenspan, who leads the implementation of the UN agreement with Russia, said at an international organization event in London, "We see the alternatives being explored for export very positively because the important thing is delivering grain to global markets." Greenspan noted that the new corridor Ukraine is trying to operate is among "very important efforts," but "the risks are high."