Ukraine set to export grain for the first time in months

Grain is set to be exported from Ukraine for the first time in months, as eight ships have moved through the Russian Black Sea blockade. Ukrainian media is reporting the foreign-flagged ships were escorted by the Ukrainian navy to local ports

Farmer Serhiy shows grain in his barn in the village of Ptyche in eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, June 12, 2022. Source: (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

This would be the first agricultural export from Ukraine's sea ports in months, since Russian warships blocked the Black Sea in bid to crush Ukraine economically.  Before the war, Ukraine was the world’s fourth-largest exporter of wheat.  The blockade has triggered rising food prices worldwide and food insecurity in the Middle East.