Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy played down the importance of the first shipment of grain to his country since the start of the Russian invasion, saying the ship was carrying only a small portion of the crop that Kyiv must sell to help save its war-ravaged economy.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi visited the port of ChornomorskPhoto: press service of the President of Ukraine / AP / Profimedia

Zelenskyi made the pessimistic remarks in a video for students in Australia as Turkey completed an inspection of the Razoni on Wednesday before it arrived at its final destination in Lebanon as part of a deal aimed at easing the global food crisis.

The ship Razoni left the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa on Monday morning, carrying more than 26,000 tons of corn to Tripoli in Lebanon.

The vessel was able to leave Ukraine’s territorial waters after a UN-brokered deal on grain and fertilizer exports between Moscow and Kyiv was brokered last month, a rare diplomatic breakthrough in the long-running war of attrition.

However, Zelensky believes that more time is needed to see if there will be other deliveries of grain.

“Recently, thanks to the UN in partnership with Turkey, we had the first ship that exported grain, but this does not mean anything. We hope that this is a trend that will continue,” Zelensky told students in Australia.

Ukraine should export millions of grains

The Kyiv leader said that Ukraine should export at least 10 million tons of grain in order to urgently reduce the budget deficit, which amounts to 5 billion dollars per month.

A senior Turkish official said three ships could leave Ukrainian ports every day after the departure of the Razoni, while Ukraine’s infrastructure minister said another 17 ships were loaded with agricultural products and were waiting to leave.

Known as the breadbasket of Europe, Ukraine hopes to export 20 million tons of grain stored in silos and 40 million tons of the current crop, initially from Odesa and the neighboring cities of Pivdenny and Chornomorsk.

“The war…almost kills the economy. It is in a coma. Russia’s blockade of ports is a big loss for the economy,” Zelenskyy said.

The President of Ukraine has repeatedly warned that Moscow may try to block exports, despite the signing of the agreement last month.

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