Ukraine secures warships for grain corridor protection

Ukraine's Western partners have agreed to transfer warships to safeguard Ukraine's grain corridor in the Black Sea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.

(L-R) Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Swiss Confederation President Alain Berset and Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Simonyte attend a joint press conference following their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, 25 November 2023. Edgars Rinkevics, Alain Berset, and Ingrida Simonyte arrived in Kyiv to meet with to

Photo: EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

During a speech at the "Grain from Ukraine" conference in Kyiv, Zelensky said that Ukraine and undisclosed international partners had reached an agreement to provide naval escorts for merchant ships transporting grain from Ukrainian ports in the near future.

Additionally, the partners have committed to supplying robust air defence systems to protect Odesa Oblast.

According to Zelensky, the "Grain from Ukraine" initiative, discussed at the conference, has successfully delivered over 170,000 tons of grain to Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Yemen in the past year.

The conference also saw the attendance of Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, Swiss President Alain Berset, and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, all expressing their support for the initiative.

(ał)

Source: PAP