After 23 years, Ukraine restored rail links with neighboring Moldovaabout 10 million tons of cargo can be transported annually, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message yesterday Monday.

Ukraine, while not specifying the types of goods, is seeking to find new ways to export the millions of tons of grain blocked by the Russian invasion. Moldova borders on Romania, which is a member of the European Union.

A 22 km long railway line connects the city of Berezhnoye in western Ukraine with the city of Bessarabka in southern Moldova.

For his part, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a Facebook post that the rail link would be an alternative to exporting through the port of Odesa.

After the agreement reached between Russia and Ukraine through the mediation of Turkey and under the auspices of the UN, it became possible to resume grain exports from Ukrainian ports.

^{Sources: APE-MPE, REUTERS.}