President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, in an address sent on Wednesday evening, referred to the export of Ukrainian grain by sea, demonstrating that Russia systematically creates obstacles, and Ukraine cannot use this facility to its full capacity, which Kyiv’s partners know about, the Ukrainian leader emphasized. reports News.ro.

The ship Valiant commander loaded with grain in the port of Pivdenny in UkrainePhoto: Oleksandr HYMANOV / AFP / Profimedia

His comments came as the deal is due to be extended next month, and the UN has already signaled difficulties in that regard.

“Our grain export initiative has been active for seven months. During this time, 43 countries have already received more than 22 million tons of food through our sea exports. This is a significant contribution of Ukraine to global food security and stabilization of the world food market.

If it weren’t for this initiative of ours, unfortunately, we would be facing political and social chaos in some countries in Africa and Asia, and the cost of living crisis faced by various countries last year would be much worse. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyi in an address sent on Wednesday evening.

“But if this initiative of ours worked at full capacity, if Russia did not try to slow it down, we could export more food products. That is, there would be much more guarantees of food security in the world,” Zelenskyy continued.

“Our partners know exactly what deliberate actions of Russia are undermining food security,” the Ukrainian president added. “We are working to ensure the necessary stability. We must understand that this is not only a contribution to global security. Our sea food export is for the benefit of Ukraine,” the Kyiv leader emphasized.

“Nearly a million Ukrainians work in industries related to agricultural production. And for them, the fact that we unblocked sea exports last year is a guarantee of social security for the individual and the family,” Volodymyr Zelenskyi said.

The agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain is in a “difficult situation”, said the head of the UN humanitarian service Martin Griffiths last week, who hopes that it can be extended on March 18.

In turn, Ukraine appealed to the UN and Turkey to pressure Russia to “immediately” stop blocking Ukrainian grain supplies that supply millions of people, and to stop using food as a weapon, Reuters reports.