Adviser to the Ukrainian President, Mikhailo Podolyak, said that the ships loaded with grain will leave the Ukrainian ports within hours.

On the other hand, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that talking about the implementation of the grain shipment agreement is still early.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Podolyak confirmed that the ports where the grain is stored and the ships will depart from are Odessa and Yuzhny, in addition to a third port being prepared.

He added that Turkey is the guarantor of the safety of the shipping lanes, stressing that what is said about the need to clear mines is unnecessary, because we have identified, through the coordination center, the water lanes that the ships will take.

The Ukrainian official warned the Russian navy that force would be used against it if it approached Ukrainian territorial waters.

It is expected that at any moment the first Ukrainian grain ships will depart from the port of Chornomorsk, west of Odessa Province, towards Turkish territorial waters, and then to the world, according to Ukrainian government officials.

The Ukrainian side had announced earlier the completion of logistical procedures in the ports of Chornomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny to start the departure of grain ships from there.

This comes as the Ukrainian naval forces reported the entry of two frigates and a submarine, all belonging to the Turkish armed forces, through the officially announced corridors of Ukrainian grain ships in the Black Sea, while the head of the Turkish team at the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul - in statements to the island - denied that any Turkish naval vessels had entered the waters. Ukrainian.

Yesterday, Wednesday, the city of Istanbul witnessed the opening of the coordination center to ensure the safe shipment of grain from Ukrainian ports.


Ukrainian accusations

In a related context, the Ukrainian army accused the Russian forces of bombing and destroying 230 hectares of the wheat crop in the Mykolaiv district in the south of the country, and said that the bombing had damaged the new season's crop.

Despite these accusations, it is not likely that the fires in the crops will constitute a major obstacle to the implementation of the agreement due to the presence of large quantities of grain waiting for the export procedures to be completed, which means that the role of this factor in obstructing the agreement remains very limited.

In turn, the Ukrainian Southern Operations Command said that preparations in Odessa ports to start exporting are going well, but stressed that these preparations remain under a cover of secrecy in anticipation of a possible targeting by Russian forces of Ukrainian ports and facilities.


Russian terms

On the other hand, Ivan Nachayev, deputy spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that it was too early to talk about the implementation of the agreement, as only a few days had passed since its signing in Istanbul.

During a press conference, Nachayev stressed the need to lift sanctions that impede the export of Russia's agricultural products.

For his part, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said that the failure of the grain agreement should not be ruled out if sanctions that hinder the export of Russian agricultural products are not removed immediately.

Rudenko linked the success of the grain agreement to the simultaneous launch of exports from Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denied that the food crisis was caused by the Russian operation in Ukraine, stressing that the cause of the crisis is Western sanctions that prevent Russian ships from heading to the Mediterranean ports.

Last Friday, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul, with Turkish mediation and UN sponsorship, to secure the exit of millions of tons of grain from Ukrainian ports.

The agreement is valid for 120 days, subject to extension, and allows the export of between 20 and 25 million tons of suspended grain in Ukraine.


seafarers shortage crisis

There are fears that finding a sufficient number of sailors willing to sail the ships stranded in Ukraine's ports will be a major challenge to the success of the proposed grain corridor agreement, which aims to alleviate the global food crisis.

There are still about 80 ships stranded in Ukraine, and after most of their crews have been evacuated, more sailors are needed in the region to transport cargo.

It can be difficult to find people willing to work in the midst of conflict, said Henrik Janssen, managing director of Danika, which specializes in hiring crews for ships in Ukraine and Eastern Europe.

"The main concern at the moment is the security of crew members," he added.

At the start of the war in late February, about 2,000 sailors from all over the world were stranded on 94 ships in Ukrainian ports.

Data from the United Nations International Maritime Organization and sources from the shipping industry indicate that only about 450 seafarers remained on board the remaining 80 ships, mostly grain-carrying, along with cargo ships carrying other goods.