After his trip to Ukraine, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrived in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul. “It’s exciting to see the Brave Commander ship in Istanbul loaded with tons of Ukrainian wheat,” Guterres tweeted today. A press conference was scheduled for the afternoon at the control center set up specifically for the Grain Agreement.
The “Brave Commander”‘s 23,000-ton cargo of wheat is destined for Ethiopia under the UN World Food Program (WFP).
Ukrainian grain was trapped in Black Sea ports for months. In late July, the UN and Turkey brokered deals so that Ukraine could again export grain through its Black Sea ports despite the Russian war of aggression. It is estimated that over 20 million tons of grain products are stored in Ukraine. According to the coordination center, around 650,000 tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs were able to leave Ukrainian ports between early August and August 19.