Kiev (EFE).- The Resilient Africa ship left today loaded with 3,000 tons of wheat from the port of Chornomorsk, in the Ukrainian region of Odessa, thus becoming the first civilian ship to challenge the military blockade declared by Russia in the Black Sea on last July 20.
“The Resilient Africa ship with 3,000 tons of wheat has left the port of Chornomorsk and is heading to the Bosphorus,” the Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov, wrote on his account on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Another commercial ship, the Aroyat, is in the port of Chornomorsk loaded with wheat bound for Egypt.
The cargo ships Resilient Africa and Aroyat, both flying the flag of the archipelago-republic of Palau, in Oceania, entered the Black Sea together last week through the Bosphorus to transport nearly 20,000 tons of grain to Africa and Asia.
The US accuses Russia of destroying grain to feed millions of people
The United States Secretary of State for Defense, Lloyd Austin, denounced today that the attacks on Ukrainian ports and their infrastructure have destroyed enough grain to feed 10.5 million people for a year.
At the beginning of the meeting of the contact group for the defense of Ukraine that is being held this Tuesday at the Ramstein air base (Germany), Austin stressed that “Russia’s attacks continue to threaten global food security and increase the risk of humanitarian crises.” unnecessary throughout the planet.”
For this reason, Austin urged his counterparts from around fifty countries to continue providing anti-aircraft defense, interceptors, ammunition and long-term support.
According to the US representative, these systems “will continue to protect Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, including grain and energy supplies,” saving lives.
In mid-July, Russia terminated the agreement by which it committed for one year with Turkey and the UN to allow the navigation of ships destined for the export of grain from three Ukrainian ports in the Odessa region.
Days after announcing its withdrawal from the agreement, Moscow announced that it would consider any ship that entered the Black Sea and headed to Ukrainian ports a legitimate military objective, as it was suspected of transporting war material.
Ukraine responded with a reciprocal statement and intensified attacks on Russian military ships in the Black Sea, while Russia has attacked Ukrainian port and agricultural infrastructure every week.
