(Kyiv) Ukraine said on Saturday that it had exported around 13 million tonnes of goods since the establishment in August of a maritime corridor in the Black Sea which has become very important for its trade, despite Russian threats of bombing.
These approximately “13 million tonnes” were transported by 400 ships, indicated the Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure, Oleksandr Koubrakov.
He expressed his “gratitude” to Ukraine’s army and international partners for ensuring the operation of this corridor “under conditions of military aggression.”
After a difficult 2023 on the front, Ukraine can boast of successes in the Black Sea, where it defeated a Russian fleet reputed to be much more powerful.
Kyiv’s army managed to keep Russian ships away from the southwest of this sea and reopen a maritime corridor to export Ukrainian grain, ignoring threats of bombing.
This corridor was set up in August to connect the ports of southern Ukraine and the Bosphorus Strait, a few weeks after Moscow slammed the door on a grain agreement between the two warring countries.
This agreement made it possible to export almost 33 million tonnes of cereals and other Ukrainian food products through the Black Sea in one year.
This route is all the more important as several land routes have been blocked in recent months by demonstrations by Polish truck drivers, unhappy with competition deemed “unfair” from their Ukrainian colleagues.
Russia has threatened to target ships arriving in or leaving Ukrainian ports, while hitting port and grain infrastructure.
A Panamanian-flagged commercial ship heading to a Ukrainian port to load grain hit a mine this week, injuring two sailors.
President Volodymyr Zelensky praised his country’s maritime successes on Saturday, saying its forces had “reconquered the sea” this year.