Ukraine: a first UN humanitarian ship, loaded with wheat, ready to leave for Ethiopia
The Brave Commander ship chartered by the UN in the Ukrainian port of Pivdenny during the loading of cereals, Sunday August 14, 2022. © VALENTYN OGIRENKO/REUTERS
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2 mins
It's a first.
A UN-chartered humanitarian ship is preparing to depart from Ukraine.
It was loaded this Sunday with a cargo of wheat bound for Ethiopia.
If several commercial boats have already left since the beginning of the month, this is the first food aid.
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In the port of Pivdenny in the town of Youjné, near Odessa, the coordinator of the World Food Program (WFP) is pleased: 23,000 tonnes of wheat have just been loaded onto the
Brave Commander
, a bulk carrier bound for Ethiopia.
It is the first humanitarian aid boat chartered by the UN since the start of the war in Ukraine.
“
This shipment is the first and we hope that there will be many others thereafter, destined for countries in great difficulty
, explains Denise Brown, resident coordinator of the United Nations in Ukraine
.
There are at least five countries that are already in near-famine conditions and another 20 that are "under watch
"
.
These deliveries will therefore be extremely important for these populations.
»
“This 1st humanitarian shipment under the Black Sea Grain Initiative will help the @UN & partners to save lives & alleviate the suffering of millions who are struggling to put food on their table in the Horn of Africa,” says Denise Brown, Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine pic.twitter.com/CD22iFJ1rh
— OCHA Ukraine (@OCHA_Ukraine) August 14, 2022
Pick up the pace
This is the first ship chartered by the UN, but sixteen commercial ships filled with cereals
have already been able to leave Ukraine
since August 1, thanks to an
agreement between Kiev and Moscow
, obtained under the United Nations and the Turkey on July 22, on the export of cereals and agricultural products via the Black Sea.
Under this agreement, “secure corridors” will allow the circulation of merchant ships in the Black Sea.
In the future, Ukraine hopes to increase the pace of deliveries.
“
I hope that in September, thanks to this initiative, we will reach practically the same volumes as before the war
,” says Oleksandr Kubrakov, Minister of Infrastructure.
Ukraine and Russia are among the world's leading grain exporters.
The war, which prevented deliveries for several months, caused prices to soar.
►Also read: International Guest - Resumption of grain exports from Ukraine: "The major effect will be an impact on prices"
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