Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday (Sep 2) that two more ships had passed through a “temporary” Black Sea shipping corridor established since Russia withdrew from a UN-backed grain export deal in July.
“Two ships have successfully passed through our temporary ‘grain corridor’,” Zelenskyy posted on X, previously known as Twitter.
The president did not identify the vessels involved or say when they had completed their passage. Officials on Friday said two vessels had cleared the corridor – bringing to four the number that have used it.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine was “restoring true freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. Freedom requires determination.”
On Friday, a Ukrainian deputy prime minister said two vessels had passed through the corridor from the port of Pivdenny: One flagged in Liberia, the other in the Marshall Islands. The vessels were carrying pig iron and iron concentrate.
Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports since it invaded its neighbour in February 2022, and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets after pulling out of the UN-backed deal.
In response, Ukraine announced a “humanitarian corridor” hugging the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria.
Source: CNA
