Six more grain ships depart Ukrainian ports under Turkey, UN-brokered deal

A further six ships have left Ukraine carrying grain for export, Turkey's National Defence Ministry said on Saturday. 

The shipments are part of a deal aimed at resuming Ukrainian grain exports struck between Russia and Ukraine and brokered by the UN and Turkey in July.

Ukraine's grain exports slumped after Russia invaded the country on February 24 and blockaded its Black Sea ports, driving up global food prices and prompting fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East.

Three ports were unblocked under the deal signed on July 22 by Moscow and Kyiv, and brokered by the UN and Ankara.

The deal's execution is overseen by a  Joint Coordination Centre involving officials from all three states, with UN officials in Istanbul monitoring the exports.

Ukraine is one of the world's biggest producers of grain, and in 2021 was the source of half the grain that WFP bought to feed 130 million hungry people.