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Minister: Shipowners stop vessel calls for exports of farm products at Ukraine's Black Sea ports

The country's Agriculture Minister said that shipowners temporarily halted vessel arrivals in?Ukraine?s Black Sea ports?for agricultural exports?after a recent surge?in russian attacks against ports and merchant ships? According to traders and analysts, the Russian drone and missile attacks have caused Ukraine to lose about a third its ability to export grain through Black Sea ports.

"As from today, entry of ships is suspended. The shipowners made this decision. Ukraine as a country has not imposed restrictions," Interfax Ukraine quoted Taras Vysotskyi on Wednesday.

Interfax-Ukraine reported that Vysotskyi also added that alternative routes as well as infrastructure are currently underutilised.

Since 2023, Ukraine has been exporting a large amount of grain via its Black Sea shipping route. This is because Russia reneged on a deal which had guaranteed "safe passage" for agricultural exports following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In recent weeks, Russian?attacks? on Ukraine's deepwater port?and international ships have increased. Brokers say that shipowners refuse to enter Ukrainian port due to the sharply increased concerns about war risks, and traders have stopped purchases. Ukrainian authorities reported that a Russian missile attack on a ship transporting corn near Odesa, Ukraine on Sunday resulted in the deaths of nine crew members from India, Syria and one Ukrainian maritime pilot.

UKRAINE REQUESTS URGENTE? A SECURITY CONSULTAN MEETING

Andrii Sybiha said that the Russians have attacked at least three civilian cargo vessels in recent days.

Today, no vessels crossed Ukraine's Black Sea Maritime Corridor - just as harvest was at its peak. Sybiha wrote in a X post that this was a deliberate act of economic and humanitarian terror. Ukraine had also requested an urgent 'United Nations Security Council Meeting for Monday. Moscow claims it is targeting port infrastructure and vessels that are supporting the Ukrainian military.

Ukraine also intensifies its attacks on vessels in?the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, as part of a broader?campaign to isolate Russia-occupied Crimea while undermining Moscow's main revenue sources. Russia banned vessel movements into and out of Novorossiysk, its largest port in terms of volume, which handles about a third of the country's grain exports, on Wednesday. (Reporting and editing by Emelia Sithole Matarise; Anna Pruchnicka)

(source: Reuters)