Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced on Monday his country's agreement with Croatia on the possibility of using Croatian ports to export Ukrainian grain, in light of the inability to use the Black Sea corridor following Russia's recent withdrawal from the grain export agreement.
Speaking at a meeting with his Croatian counterpart Gerlic Radman in Kiev, Kuleba said the two sides would now work to create the most efficient routes to ports to make the most of the opportunity.
The Ukrainian minister added that the arms file topped his talks with his Croatian counterpart, noting that there are specific agreements that will be implemented soon, without providing details on this.
After Russia withdrew from the grain deal about two weeks ago, Ukraine lost the ability to use the Black Sea corridor to safely export grain from its ports, and both sides threatened to target commercial ships passing through there as potential military targets.
Ukraine currently relies on overland export routes through the EU, as well as an alternative route across the Danube.
After the grain deal expired, Kiev reported Russian strikes that damaged grain export ports, particularly in Odessa, and Russian strikes targeted infrastructure along the Danube.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said Russian air strikes destroyed about 180,9 metric tons of Ukrainian grain crops within <> days in July.
The grain deal, sponsored by the United Nations and Turkey, contributed to the export of about 33 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain over the course of a year, 60 percent of it to countries in Africa and Asia, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and this has returned to Ukraine's economy billions of dollars as the only source of revenue currently.