UK to allocate up to £10M to repair Ukraine's rail infrastructure to facilitate grain exports

The government said this in a press release, Ukrinform reports.

"In addition to preventing grain from leaving Ukraine via the Black Sea – the route by which 96% of Ukraine’s grain has historically been exported, Russian attacks are disrupting rail exports. To counteract this, the UK is contributing up to £10 million in materials and equipment to Ukraine Railways to repair rail infrastructure and help get grain out of the country by rail," the press release reads.

The UK is in close discussion with the Government of Ukraine about how to maximize their rail capacity and keep both trains and grain moving, the statement said.

The UK government noted that not only is Russia preventing Ukraine from exporting its grain, there is increasing evidence that Russia is stealing grain from Ukraine, smuggling it over the border to sell and boost Putin’s war coffers.

"The UK will put £1.5 million to develop a testing process to identify whether grain sold by Russia on the world market has been illegally taken from Ukraine. This would allow world governments to tackle the scourge of stolen grain, deterring Russian activity and ensuring Ukraine is getting the revenue it so desperately needs from any grain it grows. The PM [Boris Johnson] will ask other G7 countries to join these efforts today," the press release said.

Earlier, First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Taras Vysotskyi said that since the beginning of the large-scale invasion, Russia has exported at least 400,000 tonnes of grain from captured Ukrainian territories.