Grain corridor blocked since June end - expert

In fact, the work of the grain corridor has been blocked since the end of June 2023, when the registration of ships to enter Ukrainian seaports was stopped.

Denys Marchuk, deputy chairman of Ukrainian Agrarian Council (UAC), stated this at a briefing at Ukraine Media Center – Ukrinform.

"Since the end of June, we have had a de facto shutdown of the 'corridor'. The possibility of registering ships to enter the territory of Ukraine from the Bosphorus has been blocked," he said.

Marchuk noted that since the end of June, Ukrainian seaports have been loading only those vessels that have been registered before.

The expert added that negotiations are currently underway to extend the grain corridor beyond July 18, 2023. However, according to Marchuk, the corridor will not be fully operational in July or August.

According to the deputy head of UAC, the grain deal will continue even if Russia announces its withdrawal from it. Marchuk said that Türkiye is ready to use naval forces to protect ships traveling through the corridor. In addition, the Ukrainian government has already allocated UAH 20 billion for risk insurance for ships transporting Ukrainian agricultural products under the grain deal.

As Ukrinform reported, on March 18, 2023, Ukraine, the United Nations, and Türkiye agreed to extend the Initiative for the Safe Transportation of Agricultural Products through the Black Sea. The agreement was extended for 120 days. But Russians claimed that the agreement would be valid until May 18, 2023.

On May 17, Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration - Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, said that the agreement would be in effect until July 18, 2023.